Youth murdered days before wedding; former colleague, partner held

NEW DELHI: A youth who went missing from Delhi days before his wedding was found dead in Gurugram. The deceased has been identified as Yuvraj Singh Manchanda (31). Police have taken his former colleague and her partner into custody in connection with the murder. Yuvraj was scheduled to get married next month. His relatives said he was the sole breadwinner of his family. Police suspect that a financial dispute may have led to the murder.

On September 6, Yuvraj visited Lajpat Nagar Market in Delhi with his sisters and later had food at a nearby restaurant. Around 4 pm, he left the place saying that he was going to Gurugram to meet his former colleague and would return by 10 pm. Yuvraj spoke to his family around 7 pm and told them that he would reach home soon. However, his phone was later switched off. Although the family received a message from his phone on September 8, they were not able to contact him. On September 11, the family lodged a complaint at the Lajpat Nagar police station.

Meanwhile, an unidentified body was found on September 10 in a drain under the jurisdiction of the Badshahpur police station in Gurugram. However, the body was cremated before it could be identified as Yuvraj's. The family alleges that the police informed them about the incident only on September 14. His relatives have demanded that the post-mortem report, DNA samples and Yuvraj's belongings be handed over to the family.

During the investigation, police found that the last call from Yuvraj's phone had been made to his former colleague. However, her phone was also switched off. Police then collected CCTV footage and phone call records, which helped them gather more information about the woman. They also found that she had started using a new mobile number. Further investigation revealed that she was in Uttarakhand.

A police team then reached Uttarakhand and took the woman and her partner into custody. According to police, during questioning, the two admitted to killing Yuvraj and dumping his body in a drain near their house in Gurugram. Further investigation is underway to establish the exact motive behind the murder. A court has sent both accused to police custody for five days.