Manchanda murder: ‘Probe role of surgeon, Ggm cops in evidence destruction’

A Delhi court on Tuesday directed an investigation into the role of officials from the Badshahpur police station in Gurugram and and the autopsy surgeon from Gurugram Civil Hospital for potential “destruction of evidence” in the murder case of Delhi resident and real estate professional Yuvraj Singh Manchanda, whose body was found in Gurugram

A Delhi court on Tuesday directed an investigation into the role of officials from the Badshahpur police station in Gurugram and and the autopsy surgeon from Gurugram Civil Hospital for potential “destruction of evidence” in the murder case of Delhi resident and real estate professional Yuvraj Singh Manchanda, whose body was found in Gurugram.

Accused Anya Vats and her associate Sanyam Sachdeva were arrested from Uttarakhand. (ANI)

Judicial magistrate first class Rahul Jain of Saket courts, in his order, noted that several norms appeared to have been flouted while disposing off Manchanda’s body, thereby their role in the disappearance of evidence “cannot be ruled out”.

“Thus, it is imperative that investigation be conducted on this aspect under section 238 (causing disappearance of evidence of an offence) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS),” the court said.

The court was deciding on two applications filed by the victim’s sister, Dr. Harsimran Manchanda. One application was related to seeking judicial monitoring of the probe, while the other sought urgent production and preservation of evidence seized by Gurugram Police. She is represented by senior advocate Amit Prasad.

Among other stern directions, the court also directed that the order be sent to the concerned deputy commissioner of police and the Gurugram police commissioner, who will have to file a status report within two weeks explaining the delayed entry on an inter-state portal, failure to conduct post-mortem videography, and failure to inform the executive magistrate.

The court also went on to issue summons to the autopsy surgeon to appear in person along with a written explanation on the next date of hearing to explain the discrepancies in the post-mortem report.

What the court flagged

Manchanda, a resident of Sarita Vihar, went missing on September 6 after leaving for Gurugram from Lajpat Nagar market. He was allegedly killed by his former colleague Anya Vats and her partner Sanyam Sachdeva the same night, according to Delhi Police.

On September 11, following a complaint by his family, Delhi Police registered a missing-person first information report and uploaded his details, including his photograph, on the inter-state Zonal Integrated Police Network (ZIPNET) portal.

However, the court on Tuesday observed that, although Gurugram Police recovered an unidentified male body on September 10, details were uploaded to the inter-state ZIPNET portal only on September 16, two days after the body was cremated as unidentified.

The judge observed, “On the face of it, this shows clear negligence and a failure to follow the Standard Operating Procedures established for such cases.”

The delay, the court said, “affected evidence preservation” and denied the family their rights to perform the last rites.

The court noted that Gurugram police had also accepted a written complaint from a local property dealer, Mohit, who claimed Yuvraj had died after he fell in shallow water and that there was “no foul play”, accusing the police of “trying to create evidence to support the theory” that he drowned.

“The abnormality of complaint…brings more suspicion into the role of officials of Badshahpur police station,” it said.

The court further pointed out contradictions between the Delhi Police investigation and the post-mortem report prepared by the autopsy surgeon.

The court said that, while the two accused told police they had shot the victim twice near the neck, the post-mortem report listed no external injuries and cited the cause of death as “ante-mortem drowning”.

The judge observed, “It states nil under external injuries and lists internal structures including the neck, scalp, skull, meninges, chest wall, and ribs as showing no abnormality detected.”

He pulled up the doctor for only preserving a blood sample on a gauze for DNA testing and not the viscera for chemical analysis to check for poisoning and femur bone or sternum for diatom testing, which would help identify if he did indeed drown.

Standard forensic guidelines also mandate a full-body X-ray before conducting an autopsy on a decomposed body to check for hidden metallic objects like bullets, however, “No X-ray was conducted or mentioned in the report,” the court noted.

The court also recorded the statement of the investigating officer of the case that “these discrepancies point toward potential police involvement”, to order a separate investigation on this aspect.

The next date of hearing has been scheduled for October 15.

The court had, in the last hearing, called the sequence of events a “shocking state of affairs”, while flagging the failures of the Gurugram police.

Haryana director general of police Ajay Singhal on Monday acknowledged certain lapses in the handling of the body, while defending the three-day preservation procedure followed by Gurugram Police for unidentified bodies.

“There were certain lapses of which the court (Delhi) has taken cognisance. We will look into it and will amend our instruction. We will issue appropriate directions,” Singhal told HT.

According to Delhi Police, Manchanda was last seen by his sisters on September 6 after dropping them at Lajpat Nagar market and leaving for a meeting in Gurugram. Police allege that he was murdered the same night by Vats and Sachdeva.

Investigators allege that the duo drove around Gurugram for two days with Manchanda’s body in Vats’s SUV before dumping it in a sewer on September 8. Gurugram Police recovered the body on September 10.

Delhi Police has said Manchanda’s family did not approach it until September 11 because the accused allegedly used his phone to send messages to relatives, creating the impression that he was alive.

Vats and Sachdeva were arrested from Kaichi Dham in Uttarakhand on September 16. During interrogation, they allegedly disclosed details of the murder and disposal of the body, following which Delhi Police contacted Gurugram Police and obtained information about the unidentified-body case.