Fact-Check: Delhi's Nikki Yadav Murder Case Given a False Communal Spin

The victim and the accused, Sahil Gehlot, are both from the Hindu community.

Fact-Check: The Nikki Yadav murder case has no communal angle to it, the claims are false. 

(Photo: The Quint)

The Delhi police on Tuesday, 14 February, arrested one Sahil Gehlot on charges of murdering his live-in partner, Nikki Yadav. The girl's body was found in the refrigerator of a dhaba located on the outskirts of Mitraon village of Delhi's Najafgarh.

Images of the two have since been going viral on the internet.

The claim: Some users have claimed that the murder was a case of "Love Jihad", a conspiracy theory popularised by the Indian right-wing, which refers to the alleged conversion of Hindu girls by Muslims in the guise of love.

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)

(Archives of more such posts can be found here and here.)

The truth: There is no communal angle in the case. The girl's body was recovered from the Najafgarh area of ​​Delhi. According to the police, the accused in the case is Sahil Gehlot (24) and the name of the deceased is Nikki Yadav (23). They both belong to the same community.

• The press note issued by the police mentions that Gehlot was a resident of Mitraon village in Delhi.

• We also contacted SD Mishra, the Joint Commissioner of the Delhi Police Crime Branch, who told The Quint, "Sahil Gehlot, the accused arrested in the case, does not belong to the Muslim community."

• The name of the accused, Sahil Gehlot, can also be seen in the FIR of the case registered in the Crime Branch.

Copy of the FIR accessed by The Quint.

(Photo: The Quint)

What has been found in the investigation?: According to the police, they received information that the accused killed his live-in partner and married another girl on the day of the murder.

• When the police team reached, the accused was not found at his house in Mitraon village. Police arrested the accused from Kair village in Delhi.

• According to the police, accused Gehlot confessed that he killed Yadav on the intervening night of 9-10 February near the ISBT bus stand at Kashmiri Gate.

• The police further added that Gehlot strangled Yadav to death with the data cable kept in his car and then kept her dead body in the refrigerator of the dhaba located in Mitraon village near his house.

What is the reason for the murder: According to the police, Gehlot and Yadav were preparing for competitive exams in the same coaching centre, during which they became friends and fell in love.

• In February 2018, both were admitted to different courses at Galgotias University, Greater Noida. They had to return to their homes during the COVID-19 lockdown but started living together again after the lockdown was lifted.

• Gehlot hid the details of his relationship from his family. The family had arranged his marriage with another girl and it was scheduled for 9-10 February.

• When Yadav learned that Gehlot was marrying another girl, the duo fought, and Gehlot killed Yadav during this argument.

Conclusion: The only accused in the case, while this story was being written, was Sahil Gehlot, and both the accused and the victim belonged to the same community. 

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