Ghaziabad woman’s murder: Cops didn’t file FIR for months, says victim’s father

Police maintained that Kumar allegedly took Divya and her daughter to Shimla in a Baleno car on a holiday and he allegedly strangled the woman and dumped the body in a jungle area under the jurisdiction of Kumarsain police station in Shimla district

The family members of the 26-year-old woman, who was allegedly murdered by her live-in partner in Shimla in May this year, have alleged police laxity in the case. They said that personnel from the Indirapuram police station kept them waiting for about seven months and said that the case of their missing daughter was under investigation.

File Photo Divya and Raman: Ghaziabad, India - December 25, 2022: Ghaziabad Raman, who runs a car service garage in Bhopura, Vasundhara, Ghaziabad, took his live-in partner Divya 35 to Kullu by deceit, strangled her to death with a chunri in the car and threw the body down the hill in Ghaziabad, India on Sunday, December 25. 2022. (HT Photo)

Senior police officers of the Ghaziabad police commissionerate said that an inquiry will be conducted into the allegations and no laxity in registering cases will be tolerated.

The FIR for abduction was registered at the Indirapuram police station on the evening of December 18, while victim Divya Upadhyay (26), who was mother of a two-year-old girl and four months pregnant, went missing on May 19/20 this year. Her live-in partner, identified as Raman Kumar, a resident of Badshahpur Siroli in Ghaziabad, was arrested on December 23, after he emerged as the prime suspect.

Police maintained that Kumar allegedly took Divya and her daughter to Shimla in a Baleno car on a holiday and he allegedly strangled the woman and dumped the body in a jungle area under the jurisdiction of Kumarsain police station in Shimla district.

“There has been complete laxity on the part of the police even as we visited the police station dozens of times during the past seven months. They kept saying that they are investigating the case. They did not register our FIR till December 18. Kumar and Divya started staying together at a flat in Vasundhara in 2018, and Divya gave birth to a girl who is now two years old.

Divya was four months pregnant when she went missing and her pregnancy tests were done at the same hospital in Shalimar Garden where their first child was born,” said Umesh Kumar Upadhyay, Divya’s father. He said that things started to complicate after Kumar allegedly had a second marriage on May 3, and he along with his uncle Gajendra Singh and sister Pinky visited the couple’s Vasundhara flat on May 18.

“There they offered ₹10,000 to Divya and pressured her to get an abortion done in presence of one of her friends, Monika. Divya told us about the incident and said that she would not go for an abortion under any circumstances. Later, on May 20, Kumar came to our house (in Gautam Budh Nagar) and told us that Divya had gone somewhere and could not be traced. When I visited her flat, the neighbors said that she left three days ago in a cab and also took her daughter with her. But her daughter was now with Kumar. So, we suspected foul play and called the police emergency number and were told to visit Vasundhara Sector 5 police post,” Upadhyay said.

Upadhyay said that instead of taking their complaint, personnel at the police post called up Kumar and registered his complaint on the missing status of Divya.

“During the past seven months, we visited the police post, Indirapuram police station and even approached the office of the then SSP, Ghaziabad, but Divya could not be traced. Soon, we came to know that her body was recovered by the Shimla police in May. We identified her with the help of pictures that showed tattoos on her fingers, right arm and left shoulder. We even could not perform her last rites,” Divya’s father added.

Based on Upadhyay’s complaint, the Ghaziabad police on December 18 registered an FIR under Section 364 (kidnapping) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and interrogated Kumar, who broke down and admitted that he murdered Divya.

The Ghaziabad police got in touch with their Shimla counterparts and came to know that Divya was murdered and her body was recovered on May 26.

“A murder case was already registered in Shimla in May. The murder investigation will be taken up by the Shimla police and the Ghaziabad police will provide all possible help. When the matter came to my knowledge recently, I immediately lodged an FIR,” said Diksha Sharma, deputy commissioner of police (trans-Hindon).

Police commissioner Ajay Kumar Mishra said that he is striving hard to bring a change in the mindset of the police.

“The matter of police laxity in the case will be inquired. We have given clear instructions about proper registration of FIRs and bring a change in how the police should serve citizens. No laxity in any case will be tolerated,” commissioner Mishra said.