New Delhi: A 31-year-old Delhi man who left a restaurant after telling his family that he had an urgent meeting in Gurugram was allegedly murdered by his former colleague and her partner, with police later recovering his body from a drain. The victim, Yuvraj Singh Manchanda, was reportedly set to get married next month.
Yuvraj visited Lajpat Nagar market with his sisters on September 6 to shop for his wedding. After purchasing a sherwani, the family stopped at the Golden Dragon restaurant at around 4:15 pm. While they were there, Yuvraj told his sisters that he needed to travel to Gurugram to meet a former colleague. He then left the restaurant, while his sisters returned home in a cab.
The family spoke to Yuvraj over the phone at around 7 pm. He reportedly told them that he would return home by 10 pm. However, he failed to return and soon became unreachable. On September 8, at around 4:16 pm, the family received what turned out to be his last WhatsApp message. His phone was switched off again shortly afterwards. With no information about his whereabouts, the family filed a missing-person complaint at the Lajpat Nagar police station on September 11.
The case also raised concerns over the handling of Yuvraj’s unidentified body. According to his family, Gurugram police recovered the body on September 10 but allegedly did not inform them. They also claimed that details of the unidentified body were not uploaded on the Zonal Integrated Police Network (ZIPNET) in time for identification. The body was subsequently cremated on September 14, two days before the family was informed about Yuvraj’s death.
The family has demanded that the post-mortem report, investigation records, photographs, DNA samples and Yuvraj’s belongings be preserved and handed over to them. Yuvraj was reportedly the sole earning member of his family. His father is paralysed, while his mother suffers from a heart condition.
During the investigation, police examined Yuvraj’s phone records and found that his last known call was with a former colleague identified as Vats, whom he had gone to meet in Gurugram. When her phone was found switched off, investigators intensified their search. CCTV footage, technical data and inquiries at the workplaces of Yuvraj and the suspect reportedly helped police trace her movements.
Police later discovered that Vats was using a new mobile number and arrested her from Uttarakhand. Her partner was also arrested in connection with the case. During interrogation, the two accused allegedly told police that they had killed Yuvraj and disposed of his body in a drain near their residence in Gurugram.
Police suspect that a financial dispute may have been the motive behind the murder. However, Yuvraj’s family has alleged that the accused woman is withholding the actual reason for the killing. Police are continuing to interrogate the accused to establish the exact motive and reconstruct the circumstances surrounding the murder. Both accused have been remanded in five-day police custody.
