Gmail to CCTV, a family’s frantic search for singer ends with her body buried near Haryana highway

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“We searched everywhere and called her friends. We waited for another day.”

On May 13, the 28-year-old Dalit singer’s family approached the Delhi Police. “But they asked us to leave. Later, one of her friends told us that he had her Gmail account logged in his device. He helped us trace the last active location,” the father said.

The search led to an eatery at Meham in Haryana on May 16, the family said. The singer’s sister and father “rushed there” and after “two days of struggle”, managed to obtain the CCTV footage from the eatery’s owner. In the footage, the woman is seen stepping out of a white car, walking unsteadily and accompanied by a man in a yellow shirt.

On Monday, the family’s despair turned to anger after the police’s probe led to her body, buried near a highway in Rohtak. Hours later, and on Tuesday, the family staged a protest, along with Bhim Army members and local residents, claiming that the singer was gangraped and assaulted, that the police had ignored the early pleas for help, and that they had to trace her journey and footage themselves.

The accused have been identified as Ravi and Anil, and booked for kidnapping, murder and for hiding evidence, said the police. (Photo courtesy: Delhi Police)

“We informed the police and even gave them the footage. They refused to do anything and misbehaved with my father. They later called and said she would be coming home in a day. On Monday, we received the news of her death,” claimed the victim’s sister. The police returned the body to the family following an autopsy.

According to the police, the charge of gangrape is yet to be proved, but they have information to suggest that the singer was drugged, kidnapped and strangled. They have also arrested two accused, identified as Ravi and his accomplice Anil — both in their 20s and employed at a finance company as helpers. Ravi was already facing a rape case lodged by the victim.

The police said that the two accused allegedly revealed during questioning the location where they had buried the body. The police and the family said Ravi and the singer were in a relationship three years ago, but he continued harassing her even after it ended, going as far as to assault her on multiple occasions.

Police sources told The Indian Express that the accused also allegedly revealed that they spiked the victim’s drink with sleeping pills and took her for a meal at an eatery. After the meal, they allegedly strangled her to death in the car, the sources said.

The police have recovered the car suspected to have been used in the crime, and the axe used to bury the body, the sources said.“We are not sure of the motive but it appears that Ravi wanted to take revenge for the rape case that was lodged against him in 2019,” said an officer.

The police are yet to verify the family’s claims that a chemical substance was poured on the woman to hide her wounds.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Shankar Choudhary said: “We registered a case of kidnapping based on the complaint from her family. Our teams conducted several raids and arrested the two accused from Meham in Haryana on Sunday.”

The DCP said: “During interrogation, they disclosed that they hatched a conspiracy to kill the woman. One of the accused called her and asked her to meet on the pretext of making a music video. He drugged her and killed her. The accused buried her body near the Rohtak highway. The accused were earlier friends with the deceased.”

The rape case is currently sub-judice and a court hearing is scheduled next week.

DCP Choudhary did not respond to multiple calls and text messages from The Indian Express seeking comment on the family’s allegations of police inaction and delay in the case.

The singer’s father recalled that on May 11, hours after she left home, he had called her. “She told me she wasn’t feeling well and wanted to sleep. Those were her last words.”