Delhi Police constable kills wife then shoots himself in East Vinod Nagar
A 32-year-old Delhi Police constable allegedly shot and killed his schoolteacher wife before committing suicide with his service weapon in the East Vinod Nagar-Kalyanpuri area.
The body of the constable, Manish Bhati, was discovered with a gunshot wound to his head in a park near his house in East Vinod Nagar around 6:00 PM on Tuesday. His wife, Priyanka, had been shot in the chest in the early hours of Monday around 3:00 AM near Metro pillar 90 in the East Vinod Nagar-Kalyanpuri area. The discovery of Bhati's body concluded a 38-hour search by the police.
According to the police, the incident followed a domestic dispute on Sunday, which was Priyanka's birthday. Her family members alleged that Bhati arrived home around midnight in an inebriated condition, leading to an argument during which Priyanka suffered a head injury.
In the early hours of Monday, Bhati took Priyanka on his scooter, claiming to take her to Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital. However, around 3:00 AM near Metro pillar 90, he pulled out his service revolver, shot her in the chest, and fled the scene. A passerby rushed Priyanka to Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital, where she was declared dead on arrival.
Following the shooting, Bhati went missing, taking both his and Priyanka's mobile phones with him. He chose routes with minimal CCTV surveillance to avoid detection. Six police teams conducted searches across Delhi-NCR, including Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, and Faridabad, before finding his body on Tuesday evening with his service pistol beside him.
No suicide note was recovered from the scene, and the couple's mobile phones remain missing. DCP (East) Rajiv Kumar stated that Bhati joined the force in 2022 and was posted with the Anti-Auto Theft Squad in East Delhi.
Priyanka's family alleged that she had been harassed for dowry since their marriage in 2023 and had previously filed a complaint with the Women's Cell. Neighbors also reported that the couple frequently had arguments. The police are continuing their investigation by examining forensic evidence, call detail records, and CCTV footage.
