‘Missing’ Dwarka man found dead, sister-in-law and friends arrested in Delhi

Ravi Singh was last seen on March 6. His killers used his Instagram account to lead the family and police to believe he was visiting Haridwar

On March 6, Ravi Singh, 29, a resident of Dwarka, south-west Delhi, who runs a tractor business with his family, left home after a family dispute, saying he was going to Haridwar. For two months he regularly posted photos and videos on Instagram about the different places he visited and the things he did there. But on Monday, police discovered he had been dead for two months, murdered in a conspiracy hatched by his sister-in-law who was using his Instagram account to fool the family and investigators, officers familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Police said his sister-in-law was having an affair with his friend. (Representational image)

Ravi’s decomposing body was found near a canal in Modi Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, between March 7 and 8. The Uttar Pradesh police could not identify the body and cremated it after an autopsy. The Delhi Police on Monday and Tuesday arrested Ravi’s sister-in-law, Seema Singh, 34, and two of Ravi and Seema’s friends — local contractor Neeraj Seharwat, 28, and Neeraj Dahiya, 25, who works in the shuttering business, for his murder.

Murder over affair and money

Ravi lives with his elder brother Deepak Singh, 35, and sister-in-law in Baba Haridas Nagar. He has three other siblings. He was last seen by his family on March 6, when he was packing his bags for a trip to Haridwar. Police said the family later tried to contact him but he didn’t pick up their calls. A missing person report was lodged after two weeks but local investigators soon found Ravi’s social media account. The family did not lodge a missing report sooner because a few years ago, Ravi had left home for a few days after a fight with his brother, said police.

Police checked his phone location but did not find it in Delhi. The last call made from Ravi’s phone was to Sehrawat. When Sehrawat was questioned, he told police that Ravi left home due to a family dispute. Ravi’s sister-in-law Seema also told police that Ravi had fought with his brother over work and left home for a few days, said investigators. Soon, police discovered Ravi’s Instagram account.

“He was posting regularly on Instagram about his stay in Haridwar. We thought he had left home,” said a police officer associated with the case.

However, the family persisted for the next two months because all calls to Ravi went unanswered, after which the police decided to look at the case afresh. A senior police officer said that during the examination of all the family members and technical evidence, police found that Seema was using two phones, but one of the phones was found with Dahiya.

“We found this suspicious. Also, around May 18, we found that Ravi’s phone location was traced to Janakpuri,” said Ankit Singh, deputy commissioner of police (Dwarka).

Investigators said that the suspects took apart Ravi’s SIM and phone and were only using his Instagram account. However, Sehrawat accidentally used the SIM card on May 18 while travelling for work in west Delhi. He later removed the SIM card, but by then police had caught the location pin, said officers.

“Before this, Ravi’s last location was found near his house on March 8. We also learned that Dahiya and Sehrawat’s mobile phone locations on the day of Ravi’s disappearance were Modi Nagar,” said DCP Singh.

Police also discovered that Seema’s car, a white Swift, was spotted at a toll plaza near Modi Nagar on the day of Ravi’s disappearance.

“Ravi, Dahiya, and Sehrawat were picked up for questioning between Monday and Tuesday. Dahiya confessed to the crime. He said that Seema and Sehrawat are having an affair. He said Ravi was harassing them, so helped them kill him,” said an investigator.

Seema told police that Ravi had caught her and Sehrawat a few days before March 6, said investigators. Police said Ravi had also loaned ₹9 lakh to Seema and ₹10 lakh to Sehrawat separately and was forcing them to repay the loan.

Body found in Modi Nagar

DCP Singh said that Sehrawat and Dahiya asked Ravi to accompany them to Haridwar. While en route to Modi Nagar, Sehrawat and Dahiya took photos and videos of Ravi, said police. They used these photos and videos to post on Instagram along with old media from Ravi’s phone to mislead the family, said police.

“They shot Ravi thrice in the head near Modi Nagar. They then called Seema for help. The three tried to dispose of the body at night and found a canal. They thought they threw the body inside the canal but the body was thrown near the canal. They couldn’t see much in the dark and left.” Police said they had apprehended the man who sold the suspects the gun.

Another investigator said that the three had thought the body would never be found since they had thrown it in a canal. DCP Singh said that the Uttar Pradesh police found Ravi’s body on March 7-8 but couldn’t identify the deceased. “They took photos which matched Ravi’s face. We have evidence of the gunshot wounds and the confessions. Seema also confessed how they procured the murder weapon from Haryana. After the murder, they took Ravi’s phone and kept his Instagram account active by posting photos and old videos. Ravi’s siblings thought he was alive,” said the DCP.