New Delhi: In a major revelation in the Delhi Fridge murder case, police have said that the victim Nikki Yadav and accused Sahil Gehlot were married and not living-in partners as was believed until now. Nikki Yadav, 23, was allegedly strangled to death by Sahil on February 10. While Sahil is already in police custody, the Delhi Crime Branch arrested five more persons, including Sahil's father Virender Singh on Friday.
According to police, the involvement of others that surfaced during the interrogation prompted the arrests. Besides, during the probe, police also came to know that Sahil and Nikki had married at a temple in Noida in October 2020 and Sahil was not happy with the marriage.
During searches, the police recovered the marriage certificate of Nikki and Sahil dated 2020. Sahil's family also did not approve of their relationship and had arranged his marriage with another girl. Nikki, who was unaware of Sahil's engagement with another woman, got to know about it at the last moment.
She confronted Sahil about his marriage plans with another woman. This led to a heated argument which culminated with Sahil allegedly strangulating her with a data cable in his car. He then drove 40 km with her body in the front seat and dumped it in a fridge with the help of his cousins and friends, police said.
Special Commissioner of Police P Ravinder Yadav said the police have registered a case against the accused for their involvement in the planning of the murder under section 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and on charges of hiding the incident. According to police officials, Virender Singh was aware of the crime his son had committed.
During the interrogation, Singh had first denied but later on admitted to the fact that he was aware of his son's act. Sahil's friends and cousins who helped him hide Nikki's body in the fridge were also picked up by the police.
Also read: Police probes Sahil's wedding video in Delhi fridge murder case