Printer repair ploy: Woman shot at home in Ranhola

While leaving town on Saturday with a childhood friend, 28-year-old Sandeep Singh, a schoolteacher, told his wife Sandhya, 27, that their printer needed fixing

While leaving town on Saturday with a childhood friend, 28-year-old Sandeep Singh, a schoolteacher, told his wife Sandhya, 27, that their printer needed fixing. He said he would arrange for some “tech support guys” to come home and pick it up.

A case under sections 109(1) (abetment of an offence) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act, was registered at Ranhola police station. (Representative photo)

On Sunday, as expected, two men arrived at the couple’s house in Ranhola and said they had come to fix the printer. Sandhya allowed them inside and continued with her daily chores as they busied themselves with the printer.

But what appeared to be an innocent errand turned out to be something far more sinister.

One of the two men, after pretending to work on the printer for around 45 minutes, suddenly took out a gun and started shooting Sandhya. Police said she was shot several times. As neighbours began to gather after hearing the gunshots and her screams, the assailants fled. Sandhya, however, survived.

On Wednesday, police announced the arrest of Sandeep and two other men for allegedly plotting and executing the attack. Police said Sandeep intentionally travelled to Gujarat with a friend to create an alibi, while allegedly asking a friend to arrange his wife’s murder.

According to police, Sandhya was alone at home when the two alleged shooters arrived to “collect and fix the printer”. “They pretended to work on the printer. After waiting for 45 minutes, and ensuring the coast was clear, one of them opened fire at Sandhya,” said a senior police officer aware of the case details.

Her neighbours rushed to her house hearing the noise but the accused had managed to escape,” a senior police officer said. “She was shot several times, but survived as neighbours arrived at her house and rushed her to a hospital,” the officer said.

She was rushed to Venkateshwar Hospital in Dwarka, where she is undergoing treatment and is stated to be stable. She suffered bullet injuries to her chest and abdomen. A case under sections 109(1) (abetment of an offence) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act, was registered at Ranhola police station.

Police said Sandhya’s statement was recorded late on Sunday and dozens of CCTV cameras were scanned to identify the assailants. Investigators found that one of them had travelled from Nand Nagri. CCTV mapping helped police identify and arrest Aakash, 26, and Deepak, 26.

DCP (Outer) Vikram Singh said questioning of the two shooters revealed Sandeep’s alleged plot. “During interrogation of the two accused, it came to light that the firing was carried out at the instance of the woman’s husband. He had allegedly conspired with his childhood friend, Deepak, who subsequently hired the third accused to eliminate his wife,” Singh said.

Police alleged Sandeep paid ₹3 lakh for the attack. The couple had married around four years ago and had been facing marital issues for the past three years, police said.

Sandhya’s family alleged that she had faced domestic abuse and had previously approached the Delhi Police Crime Against Women Cell with a complaint. “We had asked her to leave him but she was not ready to come back. He would hit her and torture her. He had also demanded dowry earlier. We never thought a teacher would get weapons to kill our daughter,” a family member said.