Witness in wife’s murder case, man shot dead in Sonipat court

Investigators said that Ved Prakash was shot at least thrice and died on the spot. By the time a police team reached the scene, the assailants had fled.

According to police, the resident of Mukimpur village was shot when he had gone to the advocates’ chambers to meet his lawyer at the court, where his  wife’s murder case hearing was going on.

“A Crime Branch team and another from the district police rushed to the spot as soon as we received information. Ved Prakash was rushed to Sonipat’s civil hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival. An autopsy has been conducted to ascertain the cause of death,” said the city police station in-charge, Vazir Singh.

A case has been registered under sections of murder and relevant sections of the Arms Act against the two assailants, who are yet to be identified, police said.

Investigators are also scanning CCTV footage from nearby areas to ascertain the identities of the accused and have determined that a black motorbike was used to commit the crime.

According to police, Ved Prakash had married Kanika in December 2020, against her family’s wishes.

Kanika, who was 18 years old at the time, was Ved Prakash’s friend Vijaypal’s daughter.

On June 3, 2021, Kanika ran away from her home in Rohtak to live with Ved Prakash.

A month later, Vijaypal managed to convince Kanika to come home on July 6, on the pretext of celebrating her birthday.

Prakash had said that this was when he saw her for the last time. He had also then made a video of Vijaypal taking her in his car.

Police said that after this, the woman’s father and one of his relatives drove to a canal, where Kanika was allegedly strangulated and her body dumped.

When Kanika did not return, Ved Prakash filed a complaint at Rai police station.

According to police, Vijaypal later confessed to murdering her. The duo were arrested and are currently in jail.

According to the police, Ved Prakash had earlier claimed that he was being pressured not to give his statement in court, and had lodged a complaint in this regard.