NEW DELHI: Investigators probing the murder of 24-year-old Nikki Yadav by her husband, Sahil Gehlot, have found that Sahil’s father, Virender Singh, was arrested in a murder case 25 years ago. The trial had lasted for several years and Singh was eventually convicted by a court, sources said. However, he later appealed against the conviction and was acquitted by the high court. The murder case against Singh was registered in June 1997 and pertained to a feud in the village. Police have sought more details about the case. He was arrested within days of the murder being reported, sources said.Meanwhile, at least two witnesses to the wedding of Sahil and Nikki were examined by police on Sunday. They had earlier recorded the statement of the priest of an Arya Samaj temple in Greater Noida where the wedding reportedly took place. The cops have also collected documents related to the marriage.On how the cops came to know about Nikki’s murder, an officer said that soon after the marriage rituals started, there were murmurs among the relatives that Sahil seemed to be unhappy. There were also rumours that he had gone missing on the morning of the wedding.”As his friends and relatives searched for Sahil, the news of his disappearance spread like a wildfire in Mitron village. One of our informers came to us and told us about it,” the officer said.When Sahil’s father, relatives and a few friends – who have been arrested in the case – were questioned about their roles, they reportedly admitted to being aware of Nikki’s murder. When Sahil brought Nikki’s body to hide it in a freezer at his dhaba, they stood guard outside. “Phone locations have confirmed that the accomplices were near the spot where the body was dumped,” the officer added. On Friday, police had arrested Sahil’s father on the charge of criminal conspiracy in the Nikki’s murder. Singh was booked under Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of Indian Penal Code.Sahil had reportedly married Nikki at a temple in Greater Noida in 2020 when the two were staying in a rented accommodation. “Sahil’s father was aware about it, still he fixed his wedding with someone else. Even after the murder, Sahil informed his father about the crime, but he was still asked to marry the other woman forcefully the same day. All these details emerged during Sahil’s questioning and after examining his call data records,” a source said earlier.Polcie have found that Sahil deleted chats and other data from her mobile phone as well as from his phone after killing her. Investigators said that both the mobile phones had been recovered and a forensic examination may help retrieve the deleted data. On Thursday, Sahil was also taken to the area where he claimed to have killed Nikki to reconstruct the route taken by the duo from the girl’s apartment on February 10. Sahil told police during questioning that he had deleted all data related to him from Nikki’s phone after he strangulated her in the car. He claimed he killed her near Nigambodh crematorium on their way to the Kashmere Gate inter-state bus terminal to board a bus to Himachal Pradesh.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/nikki-yadav-murder-sahil-gehlots-father-was-arrested-in-a-murder-case-25-years-ago/articleshow/98075492.cms
