NEW DELHI: The family of a Delhi man allegedly murdered in Gurgaon has raised questions over the handling of his body, claiming it was cremated in “extraordinary haste” without informing them and alleging that details of the unidentified body were never uploaded on the police’s ZIPNET database, news agency ANI reported on Friday.The allegations have emerged after the family learnt that a body recovered from a drain in Gurgaon on September 10 was allegedly that of 31-year-old Yuvraj Singh Manchanda — a day before his family approached Delhi Police to report him missing.According to a statement issued by the family and reported by ANI, Gurgaon police had allegedly recovered the body on September 10, while Manchanda’s sister filed the missing complaint on September 11 after the family had been unable to contact him.The family has alleged that the body was cremated on September 14 without informing them. It has described the cremation as having taken place in “extraordinary haste” and alleged that due process was not followed.The family has also alleged that the body was not uploaded on ZIPNET, a database used to help identify unidentified bodies and trace missing persons, ANI reported.The sequence has raised questions for the family about what happened between the recovery of the unidentified body and its cremation, and why they were allegedly not informed despite having reported Manchanda missing.Manchanda, an HR professional who lived with his family in Sarita Vihar, had gone to Gurgaon on September 6 to meet a former colleague. He was last heard from that evening before his phone was switched off.Went to Gurgaon for a meetingManchanda had spent part of September 6 shopping with his sisters and later visited a restaurant in Lajpat Nagar. He told his family that he had a meeting in Gurgaon and left after asking his sisters to take a cab home.Around 7pm, he spoke to his family and said he would return by 10pm. When he did not come back and could no longer be reached, concerns grew. His sister eventually approached Lajpat Nagar police on September 11, leading to the registration of a missing-person FIR.The investigation into his disappearance eventually focused on his former colleague Anya Vats.Police found through call records, CCTV footage and other technical evidence that Manchanda had been in contact with Vats and had told his family that he was going to Gurgaon to meet her.Vats and her alleged partner, Sanyam Sachdeva, were subsequently arrested in connection with the alleged murder.Financial dispute under investigationPolice suspect a financial dispute may have led to the killing.Anya Vats had worked with Yuvraj Manchanda in 2022 at another prominent real estate developer’s office. She was later sacked from a company and was unemployed at the time of the alleged crime.Police are examining whether alleged financial irregularities connected to her previous employment had any link to the dispute with Manchanda. The exact nature of the financial disagreement and its alleged role in the killing are still being investigated.Sachdeva, who police said was also unemployed, is being questioned about his alleged role in the crime.Police suspect that an argument took place inside Manchanda’s car after he met Vats.The accused allegedly told investigators that Manchanda was killed following the argument and that his body was kept inside the car for several hours while they allegedly worked out where to dispose of it.The body was subsequently dumped in a drain near their house in Gurgaon, after which the accused fled to Uttarakhand.Body found in drainThe investigation led police to the Badshahpur area, where an unidentified body had been recovered from a drain. The remains were badly decomposed.Police showed photographs of the body to Manchanda’s family, who identified him.Police later traced Vats to Uttarakhand after technical surveillance detected a new mobile number allegedly being used by her. A police team travelled there and apprehended Vats and Sachdeva.Both were produced before a court, which sent them to five days of police custody.Police are now investigating the suspected financial motive, the exact roles of the two accused, the circumstances of Manchanda’s death and whether anyone else was involved.(With agency inputs)
