HP woman's murder: Accused cop threatened to malign her, says family

Two days after the body of a Jogindernagar (HP) woman, Nisha Soni (22), was recovered from the Bhakra canal, near Patiala, her elder sister alleged the accused police officer had threatened to upload her videos on social media hours before the murder on January 20.

A murder case has been registered against the deceased’s friend, Yuvraj Singh, for allegedly pushing her into the canal near Pathreri Jattan village bridge in Rupnagar. Yuvraj, who was posted in Mohali, has been arrested.

The victim’s broken phone has also been recovered from the canal. Her sister Ritu Soni, a resident of Sector-123, Kharar, said, “My sister and the accused knew each other for the past five months. The police should also investigate the role of others in the case.” Rupnagar DSP Rajpal Gill said the accused was in five day police remand and the investigation was underway.

In her complaint to the police, Ritu alleged Yuvraj called Nisha around 4.30 pm on January 20 and asked her to meet him, threatening her of dire consequences and uploading her videos on social media. Around 8.30 pm, he again called her, telling her to come with him as they had to go somewhere in his car. The police said the footage of a CCTV camera showed the victim getting in the car of the suspect in Kharar before heading towards Rupnagar.

“Later, repeated calls to Nisha went unanswered. Her phone was switched off after 10.30 pm,” she stated. Nisha’s family approached the police on January 21 and the same day, her body was recovered from the canal. Yuvraj was arrested the next day.

Nisha’s family said she was staying in Chandigarh for the past four-five years and had graduated from SD College. She was about to complete an air hostess course from a Sector-34 institute.

Sources said Yuvraj had not told the victim that he was already married. The accused’s wife was about to return from Australia soon, they said.