New Delhi [India], August 13 (HBTV): The Delhi Crime Branch has solved a year-old blind murder case with the arrest of a woman and her boyfriend for conspiring to kill her husband and disposing of his body in Haryana’s Sonipat, officials said.

The accused have been identified as Soniya (34), a resident of Alipur in Delhi, and her partner Rohit, a resident of Jaji village in Sonipat.

According to officials, the case dates back to July 2024, when the decomposed body of an unidentified man was found in a drain near Agwanpur village under Gannaur police station in Sonipat. A murder case was registered but remained unsolved as the deceased could not be identified.

The breakthrough came when the Delhi Crime Branch, led by Inspector Sandeep Tushir, began investigating the disappearance of Pritam Prakash (42), a proclaimed offender and history-sheeter from Alipur. Soniya had lodged a complaint on July 20, 2024, stating that her husband had gone missing on the intervening night of July 5–6.

Investigators traced Pritam’s last phone location to Jaji village, where Rohit was found using the device. Initially, Rohit claimed he had bought the phone from an unknown person, but under sustained questioning, he confessed to having an illicit relationship with Soniya and revealed the murder plot.

Rohit said Soniya had offered a “supari” (contract) to kill her husband. She eventually enlisted her sister’s brother-in-law, Vijay, to commit the murder for Rs 1 lakh. On the night of July 5, 2024, while Pritam stayed over at her sister’s house, Vijay killed him as others slept. The body was wrapped in cloth and dumped in a nearby drain.

Soniya returned to Delhi the next day and filed a false missing report. She later sold Pritam’s three-wheeler for Rs 4.5 lakh, paid Rohit Rs 2.8 lakh, and gave Vijay Rs 50,000. A few months later, she handed Pritam’s phone to Rohit with instructions to destroy it, but he kept and used it, leading police to them.

Vijay, the third accused, is currently lodged in a Haryana jail in connection with a theft case. Officials said DNA samples preserved from the 2024 autopsy will be used for final forensic verification.

(ANI)