A woman and a six-month-old baby were murdered in Delhi’s popular Majnu Ka Tilla area by a 24-year-old man named Nikhil. He is from Uttarakhand and was caught in Haldwani on Wednesday after a big search across different states. Nikhil is accused of killing Sonal, who was 22, and a six-month-old girl (the daughter of Sonal’s friend) on Tuesday afternoon. Police said he used a surgical blade to kill them. After the murder, Nikhil ran away, tried to kill himself, and went to different cities. Finally, he was found and arrested in Haldwani.
What happened
Nikhil and Sonal met in 2023 at an event in Haldwani. They soon started a relationship and began living together. Later that year, Sonal became pregnant. At that time, they were not married and did not have money, so they did not want to keep the baby. They tried to get an abortion but couldn’t. The baby was born in early 2024. Later, the couple allegedly sold the baby to someone in Almora for Rs 2 lakh. With that money, they moved to Delhi. First, they stayed in Wazirabad and then shifted to Majnu Ka Tilla. While living in Delhi, Sonal became friends with a local woman named Rashmi. She started visiting Rashmi’s house often and later moved in with her after breaking up with Nikhil because they kept fighting.
The second pregnancy
Police say Nikhil suspected that Sonal was having an affair with Rashmi’s husband, Durgesh. Nikhil found WhatsApp chats between Sonal and Durgesh and argued with her many times. During this time, Sonal became pregnant again. Nikhil wanted to keep this baby and hoped to start a new life with her. But Sonal decided to have an abortion without telling him. Nikhil later said he thought Durgesh forced her to do this. Sonal stayed at Rashmi’s house for about 20 to 25 days before the murder. Nikhil did not live with her then but kept trying to convince her to come back.
The day of the killings
On Wednesday around 1 pm, Rashmi and her husband Durgesh went out to pick up their elder daughter (who is five) from school. Sonal stayed at home with their six-month-old baby. Taking advantage of this, Nikhil came to the house carrying a blade. Police say he and Sonal got into a fight. The fight turned violent, and Nikhil allegedly cut Sonal’s throat with the blade. After that, he also killed the baby, as revenge for Sonal’s abortion. A family member told PTI that Nikhil put tape on the mouths of Sonal and the baby so no one would hear them scream. He then cut Sonal’s throat and beheaded the baby.
After the murders, Nikhil ran away, leaving his phone behind so he wouldn’t be tracked. When Rashmi and Durgesh came home with their elder daughter, they saw Sonal and the baby lying in a pool of blood. They called the police.
Nikhil first went back to his place and tried to kill himself, but failed. He then went to Old Delhi Railway Station, travelled to Bareilly, and finally reached Haldwani. There, he hid in the house of a friend connected to his sister.
Police went to arrest him, but he ran away before they got there. He hid through the night and came back to the same house the next morning, where he was finally caught. During questioning, Nikhil admitted that he had killed Sonal and the baby.