Nikki Yadav murder case: 'Culprit should be hanged to death,' says victim's father

"All we want now is justice, and the perpetrator should be hanged," said the father of Nikki Yadav, who was strangled to death and her body stuffed in a refrigerator by her live-in partner in southwest Delhi. Police said the accused, Sahil Gehlot married another woman the same day he killed Nikki Yadav, and on Tuesday, he was arrested.

Nikki's family members, who had come from their village in Haryana's Jhajjar district, were waiting outside the mortuary of the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital on Wednesday. They are still coming to terms with the fact that their daughter, who was very ambitious and was preparing for her PhD, is no longer with them. 

Nidhi, Nikki's sister, who was very attached to her, had the most impact. While talking to PTI, Nidhi said, "I'm feeling numb. I don't know what to say. I am currently unable to speak as I am still coming to terms with what happened to my sister." The post-mortem lasted for over two hours. According to the preliminary opinion of doctors, the cause of death was strangulation. 

Sunil Yadav, Nikki's father, said, "Our daughter has left us. She is no longer alive. Now, all we want is justice. The perpetrator should be awarded the strictest punishment and hanged to death for his brutal crime."

Victim's elder cousin Jagdish Yadav said they were unaware of Nikki's relationship with Sahil and that she had never told anyone in her family about him. He said, "She was studying MA and wanted to pursue PHD further, which is why she was staying at a rented flat in Uttam Nagar.

She had a friendly and healthy relationship with her parents and other family members. She used to call her parents every day, but she never mentioned this boy (Sahil)," he continued. 

About her last conversation with her family, he said that her cell phone was found switched off on Friday, after which her father attempted to contact her friends in Delhi, who informed them that her phone was with Sahil.

On Saturday, her father contacted Sahil, who informed him that he was 'busy with wedding preparations' and that Nikki had left for a trip outside of Delhi. 

"We later learned from the police that she had been murdered. This culprit should face harsh punishment. He should be hanged to death," he asserted.

Nikki Yadav was allegedly strangled to death by her 24-year-old boyfriend, who stuffed her body inside the refrigerator of his dhaba (restaurant) in southwest Delhi before marrying another woman the next day, said police.

The incident came to light on Valentine's Day, and Nikki's body was recovered from the eatery's refrigerator four days later, on Tuesday morning.

Police said the accused hid about his marriage to another woman from his girlfriend. When Nikki learned about the wedding, she got into a heated argument with Gehlot, leading to her death.

"She allegedly threatened to implicate the man in a case if he married another woman," sources said. The couple had been dating for several years, and Nikki had expressed a desire to marry the accused, said the police. 

(With inputs from PTI)

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