Sahil’s plan was to show Nikki’s murder as an accident, say cops

The disclosure comes amid admissions of those arrested that the murder was premeditated, did not actively involve Gehlot alone, and that some of his family members were part of the conspiracy

Sahil Gehlot had initially planned to pass off his partner Nikki Yadav’s murder as an accident, ongoing interrogation into the case has revealed, officers aware of the matter said on Monday.

Police may now arrest other members of Gehlot’s family — five of them, including his father, were arrested last Friday — after investigating their direct or indirect role in conspiring to kill Nikki, the officers said. (PTI)

The disclosure comes amid increasing admissions of those arrested in the case that the murder was premeditated, did not actively involve Gehlot alone, and that some of his family members were part of the conspiracy.

Police may now arrest other members of Gehlot’s family — five of them, including his father, were arrested last Friday — after investigating their direct or indirect role in conspiring to kill Nikki, the officers said.

HT had reported last Friday that Nikki, 23, and Sahil, 24, had allegedly gotten married at a Greater Noida temple in October 2021, and that members of Sahil’s family not only knew about the killing but were also part of the conspiracy to the crime.

On February 10, Sahil strangled Nikki with a mobile phone cord in a car hours before his wedding to another woman.

According to a senior Delhi police officer, who asked not to be named, Sahil told interrogators that he planned to push her out of the car and pass it off as an accident. “Right from the moment he left Nikki’s house to murdering her at the parking lot of Nigambodh ghat crematorium, he tried several times to push her out of the running car. But, as that plan could not materialise, he strangled Nikki to death with a data cord and stuffed her body inside a refrigerator of his family-owned dhaba in Mitraon village in Najafgarh. To dodge the police, he switched off his phone and was using another number after the killing. He was in regular contact with his friends and many relatives throughout his journey from Nigambodh Ghat to Mitraon via outer Ring Road,” the officer said.

The officer further said that out of the five men arrested on Friday last week, four of them (two cousins and two friends) met Sahil near a place in west Delhi’s Pashchim Vihar, planned to temporarily stuff the body in the refrigerator and then accompanied him to the dhaba in another car.

“We have got the call details, locations and CCTV footage from many places, which evidently indicate that all of them were in a 10km radius of the same location. They were also carrying separate set of clothes for Sahil, which he wore after stuffing Yadav’s body in the fridge,” the officer quoted above said.

Ongoing investigation has also suggested that Sahil’s mother, sister and other relatives were also aware of the plan to kill Nikki before his marriage to another woman, another officer said, requesting anonymity.

Nikki, who came to know about Gehlot’s second marriage on February 9 through two common friends, had allegedly threatened to show up at the wedding, which prompted the Gehlots to decide to “take care of the problem” to avoid “any harm to their social reputation”, according to the police.

Sahil met Nikki late night on February 9, murdered her around 9am on February 10 in the parking lot of the crematorium, drove more than 40km to the family-owned restaurant in north-west Delhi’s Najafgarh, and left the body in the trunk to return home to join his second marriage later in the evening, the police have said.

“We are connecting the missing dots and examining their role in the case. If we are able to gather proper evidence supporting their involvement, they will also be booked for conspiracy and other charges,” this officer added.

The police investigation will also take into account the statements of Nikki’s father and younger sister — which were yet to be recorded — besides the Arya Samaj temple officials where the couple had gotten married, and the four witnesses at their October 1, 2021 wedding, the second officer said.

“Police have also asked officials at Arya Samaj Mandir to join the investigation as they are witnesses. We will also summon the four witnesses who signed the papers of their marriage,” the officer said.

Meanwhile, a Delhi metropolitan court on Monday extended by two days Sahil’s police custody, the officer added.

The murder of Yadav murder is the latest crime against a woman by her partner to have shocked the Capital, months after the Shraddha Walkar case came to light.

On Friday, police arrested Sahil’s father, Virendra Singh; his two cousins, Ashish Kumar and Naveen Kumar, a Delhi Police constable; and two friends, Lokesh Singh and Amar Singh for their role in the conspiracy to kill her and in helping to tamper with evidence.