New Delhi: Delhi Police arrested three more suspects on Tuesday in connection with the killing of 52-year-old Rachna Yadav, a witness in the murder case of her husband. TOI reported on Tuesday that police had cracked the case, arresting alleged mastermind Bharat Yadav and one of the shooters, Nikhil. The latest arrests included another shooter, Sumit, and two others, Sunny and Prashant, who allegedly harboured the accused and provided arms and other logistics, special CP (law and order) Ravindra Singh Yadav said. The accused were arrested from Bihar and Panipat. Bharat and Nikhil were planning to escape to Nepal and were nabbed from Katihar in Bihar, barely 100km from the border. The suspects have been remanded in five days’ police custody.Initial interrogation has revealed a long-standing dispute between two families over a 250-square-yard plot worth several crores in northwest Delhi. Both parties had allegedly issued death threats to each other repeatedly. Eventually, Bharat and his associates killed Rachna’s husband, Vijender Yadav, in May 2023. However, Rachna’s deposition was likely to land them with life imprisonment and the land had also slipped out of their hands. With all accused in Vijender’s case in jail, Bharat, who was absconding, was desperate to stop Rachna’s Feb deposition. The initial plot was hatched in Tihar in Nov-Dec after which Bharat arranged for first timers to eliminate Rachna. After the murder, Nikhil was called to Bihar’s Bhagalpur where Bharat had been hiding since 2023.“We have solved the blind case of Rachna, the president of a local residents welfare association, after a a 10-day operation following a trail spanning six states. Investigation is underway to build a watertight case,” said special CP Yadav.The murder happened on Jan 10 morning when Rachna was shot at point-blank range in East Shalimar Bagh while returning home from a neighbour’s funeral. She had a fatal gunshot wound on the forehead. Police found a single empty cartridge and a metal projectile at the spot.Soon, a massive investigative framework was created involving four primary teams and a dozen logistics units. “The investigation quickly shifted focus towards a potential vendetta. It was found that Rachna’s husband was murdered over a land dispute and prime suspect Bharat viewed Rachna as a significant threat. As a key prosecution witness, her upcoming court testimony was expected to secure his conviction,” additional commissioner Bhisham Singh said.The breakthrough came through a sophisticated blend of traditional field work and modern technology. Detectives analysed vast amounts of CCTV footage, using AI-driven image enhancement to identify two suspects on a stolen Yamaha FZ motorcycle. Technical surveillance, including the analysis of call and internet protocol detail records, helped police overcome the suspects’ use of the encrypted Zangi app and frequent SIM card changes. Following a trail that led through Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, Delhi Police teams finally tracked Bharat and Nikhil to a remote forest hut near the Nepal border.
