Neha Ahlawat murder case: Chandigarh court sentences taxi driver to life imprisonment

Fast Track Special Court, Chandigarh, on Friday sentenced 35-year-old Monu Kumar to life imprisonment for the rape and murder of 21-year-old MBA student Neha Ahlawat.

The court has also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on the convict.

The police had registered a case after her blood-stained body was found on July 30, 2010, in the forest area of Sector 38, Chandigarh.

In a complaint filed before the police, the father of the woman said that on July 30, 2010, at about 6 pm, his 21-year-old daughter Neha, left their house on a scooter for Sector 15 to attend English speaking classes.

When Neha did not return till 9 pm, he called Neha’s friend and enquired about Neha, but she said that Neha did not come to her house.

Later, another friend came to his house and said that Neha came to her around 7.30 pm and left at about 7.45 pm. Thereafter, they all searched for Neha, but she could not be located.

In the meantime, he received a call from her friend that Neha’s scooter was parked near the Taxi Stand, Sector 38, West, with bloodstains; accordingly, they reached the Karan Taxi Stand and found that on the other side of the road, a half-naked Neha was lying in a pool of blood in the bushes.

She was rushed to PGI where a duty doctor declared her brought dead.

But the police failed to find the culprit for years and closed the investigation in 2020.

The case was solved when the accused was arrested in another murder and rape case of a woman, that took place in 2022 in the same area.