Wrong Zipnet entry, cremation and lost ‘golden hours’: Police lapses in Yuvraj Manchanda murder case in Gurugram

The 31-year-old’s family filed a missing complaint on September 11, but his remains were cremated three days later before his identity was confirmed.

The family of Delhi-based real estate sales professional 31-year-old Yuvraj Singh Manchanda, who was murdered in Gurugram allegedly by a former colleague and her partner, had filed a missing person’s complaint on September 11 at the Lajpat Nagar police station in Delhi. However, Gurugram police cremated his remains on September 14, after being unable to ascertain the identity of the victim.

The investigating officer handling the body recovery was suspended on Saturday over alleged lapses in following standard procedures. (HT)

Missing complaint filed in Delhi

Almost 10 days after the sequence of events, HT learnt on Saturday that communication about the missing person could not be established as the Gurugram police uploaded his details on the police’s internal zonal integrated police network (Zipnet) portal under the wrong category, listing him as an “Unidentified Person Found” instead of an “Unidentified Dead Bodies”.

Accessed by HT, the Delhi Police’s entry, filed under “Missing Persons” category, mentions the FIR number, location of Lajpat Nagar, where he was last seen, a photograph of Manchanda, and the missing date, with identifiers listed as “Sikh”, “173 cm” height, “strong build”, “shallow complexion”, “normal long black hair”, “black shirt-blue pant”, “steel kada” (bracelet) and “gold ring on right hand”.

The Gurugram police entry mentions the date of finding the body as September 10, the daily diary entry date as September 14 and the report/upload date as September 16. It includes a photo of a Manchanda’s body lying in mud with black shirt and long hair. Details mentioned included “male”, “30-40” age, “Sikh”, “normal build”, “wheatish” complexion, “normal long black hair”, “bearded”, “black” shirt and “black” pants. However, there was no mention of the watch or the bracelet on Zipnet.

Different details recorded by police

When questioned, Gurugram deputy commissioner of police (south) Hitesh Yadav said that all details and photos of the body recovery were uploaded on the unidentified dead bodies (UIDB) database on September 14, the day the autopsy was carried out. “There was no requirement to upload anything on the Zipnet when details were already submitted on the pan-India network of the central government, on which every police station across the country works,” he said.

Manchanda's details were uploaded under wrong category (HT Infographics)

Manchanda’s sister Karishma said, “They cremated the body on September 14… The investigators caught the accused on September 16 and they learnt that my brother was murdered on September 6 and that the body was in Gurugram. I rushed to Gurugram to collect my brother’s ashes. But after waiting at the Badshahpur police station for three hours, the police told me that the ashes had been discarded. In front of me, they uploaded details on Zipnet.”

Investigating officer suspended

Senior Gurugram police officers said that the investigating officer (IO), who handled the recovery of Manchanda’s body, was suspended on Saturday. He is an assistant sub-inspector posted at the Badhshapur police station, and action was taken against him for a series of negligent actions in handling the case, an officer aware of the developments said.

The senior officer, requesting anonymity, said that had the IO taken care of the standard procedure, the murder could have been solved earlier, and the victim’s family could have had the chance to perform his last rites. “Had this data been uploaded on Zipnet immediately after the body recovery on September 10, the Delhi Police could have come to know about it the moment missing person’s complaint for Manchanda filed there on September 11,” the officer said.

‘Golden hours were lost’: Officials

However, the Gurugram police also pointed to a lack of control room alert after the missing person complaint was filed on September 11. “In the scenario where it was clear to them that Manchanda worked in Gurugram and went missing on September 6 after reaching here, they should had alerted us on priority, which was not done. Golden hours were lost due to it,” another senior official said.

DCP (South) Hitesh Yadav, meanwhile, said that they will extend all necessary help to Delhi Police.

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