It began with a horrific discovery on the morning of Might 4, 2018.
The case in opposition to Manjeet Karketa and his mates spans 5 chargesheets, together with 4 supplementary ones, filed over seven years. (Representational picture/Getty Pictures/iStockphoto)
Delhi Police have been alerted to a baby’s severed head floating in a ditch in Mianwali Nagar, close to Peera Garhi in west Delhi. In subsequent searches, investigators then discovered the sufferer’s torso, and limbs inside a bag with a knife. The police lodged an FIR stating the deceased was aged round 15 or 16. The sufferer, believed to be 15 or 16 years previous, remained unidentified. Investigators concluded she was murdered and her physique minimize into 5 items.
Locals pointed fingers at a gaggle of males from the world. They claimed a girl—not too long ago seen working close by—had been killed. That lady was 19-year-old Soni Kumar alias Chhoti.
Unable to hint her, police on Might 17 arrested her employer, Manjeet Karketa, who ran a placement company. Three of his mates—Rakesh Singh, Gauri, and Shalu—have been quickly picked up on prices of homicide and destruction of proof. The motive: the lady had demanded her pending wages.
However six months later, the case turned on its heels.
In November 2018, Soni—presumed useless—walked into her mother and father’ residence in Ranchi. She informed them she had stop Manjeet’s job and had been residing at an NGO in Gurugram. Although the investigation was totally discredited, the accused weren’t launched.
Manjeet and Rakesh have been ultimately freed. However Gauri and Shalu remained in jail seven years after the homicide—of somebody who was alive.
In April 2025, whereas listening to Manjeet’s bail plea, Delhi Police informed a court docket that forensic stories have been nonetheless awaited and his function within the homicide was nonetheless underneath investigation.
However the court docket granted bail, noting no motive or stable proof had emerged. “The investigation shocks the conscience of this court,” the choose stated. “The dead body remains unidentified. Not just the investigator, but senior police officers failed to supervise the probe diligently,” the court docket noticed.
The case in opposition to Manjeet and his mates spans 5 chargesheets, together with 4 supplementary ones, filed over seven years. The chargesheets contained disclosure statements of locals recognizing Manjeet with a girl, a CCTV seize exhibiting the backs of two males strolling, amongst different particulars.
What’s within the 5 chargesheets?
Throughout investigation, police recorded statements of three locals who grew to become foremost witnesses within the case – as per chargesheets accessed by HT.
Within the first chargesheet, filed on August 8, 2018, police cited three native witnesses who claimed to have seen Manjeet with a younger lady matching the sufferer’s description.
The police additionally traced Soni’s household and her brother recognized the physique as his sister’s, saying they hadn’t been in touch for months.
Police added CCTV footage of two males, supposedly Manjeet and Rakesh, strolling away from the crime scene. A rod, knife, and mesh allegedly bearing blood traces have been recovered from Manjeet’s Jwalapuri residence. A girl’s salwar was discovered on his rooftop – police stated this belonged to the sufferer.
However all the things modified when Soni was discovered alive on November 23. Her brother admitted to having “thought” the physique was hers. But, in January 2019—two months after her return, which investigators knew about—police filed a supplementary chargesheet nonetheless naming Manjeet and his mates as Soni’s killers.
That doc included a report from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) stating that the blood discovered at Manjeet’s residence “matched” the physique. Police additionally cited telephone location information putting Manjeet within the space.
The second supplementary chargesheet, filed three months later, lastly admitted Soni was alive. She informed police she had been moved throughout houses, ultimately being admitted into an NGO by the Gurugram police. Her brother stated he was confused on the time of identification.
This chargesheet revised the sufferer’s id to “unknown”.
Because the Covid-induced world pandemic stalled the courts in 2020, the case drifted. Rakesh was launched in 2021 to decongest jails. Others remained behind bars.
In February 2023, police filed a 3rd supplementary chargesheet, detailing Shalu’s arrest. They claimed Manjeet confessed to the homicide and led police to Shalu. Witnesses stated Manjeet and Gauri have been seen with the sufferer earlier than her demise. On this cost sheet, police additionally acknowledged that they’ve sought an FSL evaluation of the CCTV seize they discovered.
A fourth supplementary chargesheet adopted in June 2023. This time, two witnesses amended their statements, confirming Soni was alive and that the lady seen with the accused solely “looked like her”. The FSL report, nevertheless, was nonetheless pending.
In December 2023, Manjeet’s lawyer pushed for a bail but it surely was dismissed by trial court docket.
Lapses in a probe
Over the subsequent 12 months, Manjeet’s lawyer lawyer, Sundeshwar Lal, challenged the proof: “The rod and knife had no blood at the time of seizure. The CCTV footage only shows backs of men—how can police say it’s Manjeet? Nobody can see any face in the video.”
On January 8, 2024, Lal moved Delhi excessive court docket looking for Manjeet’s launch on bail.
The matter was picked up in April. Delhi Police informed court docket that investigators had testimonies that Manjeet was “last seen” with a girl close to the location.
The court docket, nevertheless, granted Manjeet bail.
“Motive is key to establish a chain of circumstantial evidence. It must relate to the deceased. Here, the deceased is still unidentified. The ‘last seen’ theory relied on Soni—who is alive,” the choose stated.
A senior officer confirmed the FSL report remains to be pending. Police stated they’ve now been directed to research the id of the particular sufferer and search for “other suspects”.