NEW DELHI: “I am flying to Bengaluru for work today.” That was among the messages sent from Yuvraj Singh Manchanda’s phone to his family after he was allegedly killed by his former colleague Anya Vats and her partner Sanyam Sachdeva on September 6, according to Delhi Police.For the next two days, messages continued to be sent from Yuvraj’s phone, creating the impression that the 31-year-old Adani Realty executive was alive, busy with work, and wanted some time alone.His family, unaware that he had already been killed, continued waiting for him to return.Police suspect Vats and Sachdeva used Yuvraj’s phone to maintain the ruse and prevent his family and friends from immediately approaching the police.A message sent on September 7 told his family he was flying to Bengaluru for work and included a photograph of a flight ticket.The following day, another message asked them not to disturb him and said he would call two days later.But that call never came. Yuvraj had allegedly been killed on September 6, the same day he met Vats and Sachdeva near a mall in Sector 70, Gurgaon.According to the preliminary investigation, he reached the location in his own car, left it there, and joined the couple in their vehicle.An argument allegedly broke out between them, following which police suspect Yuvraj was killed.
‘Please call me’: Family kept waiting
Yuvraj’s sister Karishma recalled pleading with him to call her, show his face or even send a voice message after receiving the messages from his phone.When the promised call did not come on September 10, the family became increasingly worried. They eventually filed a missing-person complaint at Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar police station on September 11.By then, investigators say, the accused had allegedly disposed of Yuvraj’s body in a drain near their home.Police later detained Vats and Sachdeva in Uttarakhand, following which they allegedly confessed to the crime, according to the family.Yuvraj’s decomposed body had been recovered from the drain on September 10.Investigators are also probing the circumstances surrounding the disposal of the body.The accused initially told police that Yuvraj’s body was kept inside their car for around seven hours, but their statements later changed, with investigators examining the possibility that it remained inside the vehicle for around two days.The couple allegedly drove around Gurgaon looking for a place to dispose of the body before parking the vehicle and using autos and cabs to travel to different locations.They later returned to the car and allegedly dumped Yuvraj’s body in the drain before fleeing to Uttarakhand.Police are reconstructing the couple’s movements and examining where Yuvraj met them, how the alleged killing took place and what happened in the hours and days that followed.
Family kept checking for him
While the accused were allegedly trying to conceal the killing, Yuvraj’s family continued searching for him.His family and friends checked Zipnet, a police portal used to share information about missing persons and unidentified bodies, every day after filing the missing complaint.His sister Karishma and Yuvraj’s friend Sahil eventually went to Badshahpur police station on September 16. There, they saw Yuvraj’s photograph and were told that his body had been recovered from a drain on September 10 and cremated on September 14.The family has alleged that the police did not upload Yuvraj’s photograph on Zipnet immediately. Haryana Police, however, said the details had been uploaded on CCTNS on September 11 as part of the prescribed process and maintained that Zipnet was not the principal pan-India system for unidentified bodies.For the family, the delay meant they did not get an opportunity to identify Yuvraj or perform his last rites.“Had the information been uploaded on Zipnet as soon as they found his body, at least we would have been able to perform his last rites and grieve,” his family said.
Wedding plans cut short
Yuvraj, who worked as a project manager at Adani Realty, was preparing for his wedding scheduled for October. Hours before he disappeared, he had bought a sherwani from Lajpat Nagar.His family said he was also closely involved in caring for his parents. His mother has a heart condition, while his father is paralysed.Meanwhile, police are probing a possible financial dispute between Yuvraj and the accused.Investigators said Vats and Sachdeva gave different versions about the amount involved, initially referring to a dispute over Rs 5 lakh and later changing it to Rs 25 lakh.The three had worked at the same firm between 2019 and 2022. Police are examining whether their professional and real estate dealings were connected to the alleged confrontation and killing.Vats has two cheating cases registered against her, while a domestic violence case was registered against Sachdeva by his wife, police said.Investigators are awaiting Yuvraj’s postmortem report and his belongings as they piece together the sequence of events.
