By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 28 Feb: A couple have been arrested by the Doon Police for the murder of a senior resident of Dehradun. It may be recalled that on 7 February, Nidhi Rathore had filed a complaint with Kotwali Patel Nagar Police Station, Dehradun that her father, Shyam Lal, was missing. As per the report, Shyam Lal had left home on his Splendor motorcycle bearing registration number UK-07-DT-1685 without informing anyone. Despite searching at relatives’ places, no information was found. Given the seriousness of the case, the police converted the missing report into a kidnapping case and registered FIR No. 71/2025 under Section 140 IPC.
SSP Dehradun, Ajai Singh constituted a police team to investigate. CCTV footage revealed Shyam Lal had gone to Geeta and Himanshu Chaudhary’s house via Kishan Nagar Chowk but did not return. Geeta and her husband, Himanshu Chaudhary, were found to have absconded, and their mobile numbers were also found to be switched off.
Through surveillance, suspicious numbers were identified. The police raided Geeta’s house in Deoband, Saharanpur, and detained her brother, Ajay Kumar. During interrogation, Ajay revealed that Geeta and Himanshu had murdered Shyam Lal, and he, along with his brother-in-law, Dhanraj Chawla, later disposed of the body. The police arrested Dhanraj, who also confirmed the murder and disposal of the body in the Sakhan Canal in Deoband.
Shyam Lal’s body was recovered from Badgaon, Saharanpur, on 20 February. Geeta and Himanshu remained absconding, prompting the police to announce a reward of Rs 25,000 each for their arrest. Continuous efforts led to their capture from Amritsar, Punjab.
During the interrogation, Geeta confessed to having an illicit relationship with Shyam Lal for 12 years. She married Himanshu in May 2024. Himanshu, an MBBS student, faced financial difficulties, leading the couple to blackmail Shyam Lal with an obscene video. On 2 February, Geeta lured Shyam Lal to a rented room where Himanshu attempted to film them. Shyam Lal resisted, and the couple strangled him.
The next day, Geeta informed Ajay, and on 4 February, she called Dhanraj to help dispose of the dead body. Himanshu, using his medical knowledge, cut the body into pieces, placed them in plastic bags, and transported them to Deoband, where they disposed of the body in the Sakhan canal.
To mislead the police, the couple abandoned Shyam Lal’s motorcycle near ISBT and removed its number plate. They then hid in various locations, including Mumbai, Jaipur, Prayagraj, Kurukshetra, and Amritsar, until their arrest.
Those arrested last in the murder case are Himanshu Chaudhary, son of Satish, resident of Naya Basti Sunhera Road, Roorkee, Haridwar and his wife Geeta.
