The Ghaziabad police on Monday informed the Delhi High Court that it had added the murder charge to the FIR lodged in the death case of Sahibabad girl Monika Dagar. It also expressed hope of being able to finish the investigation within a month.
Ghaziabad City Superintendent of Police appeared in person before a Division Bench of the Court comprising Justice S. K. Kaul and Justice Ajit Bharihoke and informed it of the status of the ongoing investigation.
The Bench had last month given an ultimatum of one week to reply to its query as to why investigation into the death not be transferred from them to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
The Bench had further said that if the State police failed to file the reply within the deadline then the State Home Secretary shall appear before the Court in person on December 14 to explain the delay.
The Bench had earlier observed that prima facie it appeared to be a case of honour killing and asked why a case of murder had not been registered so far.
Monika Dagar had married Gaurav Saini of Delhi against the wishes of her family in July this year. The Court has been hearing a habeas corpus petition by Gaurav Saini seeking a direction to the UP police to produce his wife.
Earlier, the Sahibabad police had registered a kidnapping case in the matter on a complaint by the brother of Monika Dagar.
In the complaint, Monika’s brother alleged that his sister had been taken to an unknown place by Gaurav Saini and his friends after abducting her by advancing allurements and inducements to her.
The UP police had later recovered the girl from the house of Gaurav Saini in the Capital. After getting her medically examined and recording her statement before a Magistrate, the police had handed over Monika to her mother and brother despite the fact that she was a major.
On the very next day of the issuance of the Court direction on Gaurav Saini’s petition for production of Ms. Dagar, it was reported that the girl had passed away and the body was cremated the following day without being examined by any doctor.
The Court will take up the matter for further hearing on January 22.
