A horrific crime in the Sangam Vihar area of the national capital Delhi has once again raised grave concerns over marital violence and domestic betrayal. While recent shocking cases involving Sonam Raghuvanshi in Indore, Muskan in Kanpur, and Siya Goyal in Pune had sent shockwaves across the country, police investigations reveal that the sheer brutality of the Sangam Vihar incident surpassed previous precedents. Delhi Police have arrested Manju alias Najia for masterminding the murder of her 55-year-old husband, Munna Lal. Investigators stated that distressed by chronic financial crisis, persistent domestic disputes, and physical assaults by her husband, the woman conspired to eliminate him by hiring a contract killer for Rs 5 lakh. Law enforcement agencies have taken Manju and her accomplice Chaman into custody, while legal proceedings have also been initiated against another individual named Kishan for providing shelter to the accused.
Discovery of Drenched Body on Ratiya Marg and Staged Robbery
The gruesome mystery began unfolding on the morning of August 10 at around 5:00 AM, when 55-year-old Munna Lal was discovered lying severely injured and covered in blood along a road on Ratiya Marg in Sangam Vihar. Upon receiving emergency alerts, a police team rushed to the location and immediately transported him to the AIIMS Trauma Center. However, attending medical staff declared him dead upon arrival following a preliminary examination. Initially, the physical condition of the crime scene suggested that the fatality might have resulted from a robbery or theft attempt gone violent. Nevertheless, detailed inspections conducted by police forensics and investigative personnel uncovered several suspicious discrepancies that cast serious doubts on the staged robbery narrative.
CCTV Footage Uncovers Masked Intruder's Movements
Investigators quickly established that attempts had been made to manipulate physical evidence at the scene by wiping away bloodstains to disguise the murder as an external street crime. To unravel the truth, investigative officers analyzed surveillance footage retrieved from various CCTV cameras installed throughout the neighborhood. The recordings highlighted suspicious movements by a woman and a man during the night. Specifically, the footage captured a masked individual entering the victim's residence at approximately 1:45 AM on August 10 and subsequently exiting the premises around 3:15 AM. This crucial visual evidence redirected the trajectory of the police probe, steering focus away from opportunistic thieves and toward individuals within the victim's immediate circle.
Chilling Execution Method: Sedatives, Electric Shock, and Strangulation
Following technical intelligence gathering and rigorous interrogations, police unraveled the step-by-step execution of the conspiracy. Investigators revealed that severe financial distress had triggered frequent domestic altercations and physical violence between the couple. Driven to remove her husband, Manju devised a meticulous murder plan. On the night of the crime, Munna Lal was first administered sleeping pills mixed into his food or beverage to incapacitate him and prevent any resistance. Once he fell unconscious, he was subjected to electric shocks and subsequently strangled. The perpetrators also repeatedly struck him with a heavy wooden stick, inflicting lethal injuries before dumping his body on Ratiya Marg to simulate a robbery attempt.
Rs 5 Lakh Contract Deal and Cash Recoveries
The investigation further exposed a financial contract behind the brutal killing. Police disclosed that accomplice Chaman had agreed to execute the murder for a contract fee of Rs 5 lakh. During the commission of the crime, Chaman was allegedly paid an initial sum of Rs 20,000 in cash. Acting on information extracted during interrogations, police successfully recovered Rs 15,000 of the cash amount. Special police units are currently probing the remaining financial transactions to determine when, where, and through whom the balance was to be settled, as strict legal charges continue to be pressed against all accused individuals involved.
