Murder spree: She was constantly abused by her in-laws, say family members of victim

Sunita Yadav married Anand Yadav, the son of murder suspects Rao Rai Singh Yadav and Bimlesh Yadav, in 2010. She was a resident of Kanina in Mahendragarh, about 97 kilometres from Gurugram, and moved in with her in-laws at their Sector 105 residence after getting married

Relatives of 40-year-old Sunita Yadav, who was murdered at her in-laws’ residence on Tuesday, said that she was constantly abused and assaulted by her husband and in-laws allegedly because she gave birth to a daughter around nine years ago.

Rao Rai Singh and Bimlesh Yadav were produced in a Gurugram court on Wednesday. (Vipin Kumar/HT PHOTO)

Sunita Yadav married Anand Yadav, the son of murder suspects Rao Rai Singh Yadav and Bimlesh Yadav, in 2010. She was a resident of Kanina in Mahendragarh, about 97 kilometres from Gurugram, and moved in with her in-laws at their Sector 105 residence after marriage.

Ashok Yadav, Sunita’s brother, said following their father’s death in 1993, the property was transferred to him and Sunita. Ashok is a farmer who undertakes agricultural work on three acres, of which one acre belonged to Sunita.

“The land is at a prime location on Kanina-Kosli main road and has a value of ₹1.5 crore. Her in-laws got to know about the property and started forcing her to sell it, but my sister wanted to keep this aside to support her daughter. Her daughter is a fan of badminton players Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu, and was taking badminton training at a sports academy. Sunita wanted to sell this land for her higher studies and her sports career,” he said.

The family members alleged that Sunita’s in-laws constantly picked fights with her over household chores because she refused to sell the plot. “They used to humiliate and taunt us that we were using her plot to survive and meet our needs. Sunita often complained that her husband ill-treated her and in-laws assaulted her, but each time, we consoled her and told her things would get better,” Sharmila Devi, Sunita’s sister-in-law, said.

The family said Sunita was assaulted a few years ago and a panchayat was also held in Kanina village over the issue.

The police said Ashok is also being questioned and that more family members will be called in for questioning.

Meanwhile, the three-year-old girl, the daughter of Yadav’s tenants who were also murdered, is recovering at Delhi’s Safdarjung hospital and is under heavy medication. Her family members said she was shifted to the general ward on Wednesday but she constantly escaped her bed to go look for her mother. She suffered seven grave injuries to her head, neck and chest, and minor injuries to her arms and fingers, they said.

“She is missing her mother and is trying to look around for her. She is crying and asking us to call her mother. She can’t recall what happened and is under a lot of trauma. She was hit at least seven times while she was fast asleep,” Varendra Shukla, a relative of the tenant’s family and a neighbour, said.

The bodies of the tenant, Krishan Tiwari, 45, his wife, Anamika Tiwari, 35, and the couple’s nine-year-old daughter were cremated in Gururgam, while Sunita’s family conducted her last rites in Mahendragarh.