NEW DELHI: The mystery of a man’s disappearance from northwest Delhi’s Alipur nearly a year ago was solved with the arrest of his wife, who is now accused of orchestrating his murder. Police also arrested her lover, alleging that they conspired in the crime along with her relative. The accused were identified as Soniya, 34, and Rohit, 28. The cops were searching for 42-year-old Pritam Prakash, a known history-sheeter from Alipur, who had gone missing. Soniya, his wife, filed a missing person complaint on July 20 last year, claiming he went missing during the night of July 5-6.Harsh Indora, DCP (Crime), formed a team led by inspector Sandeep Tushir. They tracked Prakash’s phone to Jaji village in Sonipat, Haryana. During a raid, Rohit was caught while using the phone. Rohit initially denied involvement but later admitted to a relationship with Soniya and disclosed that she had contracted someone to murder her husband.Soniya was arrested soon after. Though she initially misled investigators, she confessed to paying Vijay, her sister’s brother-in-law, to kill Prakash and dispose of his body near Agwanpur village. The body was recovered from a drain in Gannaur on July 10 last year and a murder case registered. Vijay later sent Soniya a news article about the unidentified body.“Soniya married Pritam at 16, and the couple had three children. Their relationship was troubled due to Pritam’s drug addiction, violent behaviour and criminal record of 10 cases,” police said.In 2023–24, Soniya grew close to Rohit, a taxi driver with a criminal past. They met on social media and soon became close. Viewing her husband as an obstacle to marrying Rohit, she sought his removal.On July 2, 2024, after an argument, Soniya left for her sister Deepa’s home in Gannaur, accompanied by Rohit. She asked him to kill Prakash, but he demanded Rs 6 lakh, saying he needed assistance. When Rohit went underground following another case, her plan stalled.Prakash returned to Gannaur on July 5 last year to take Soniya home, leading to another quarrel. That evening, she confided in Vijay, asking him to kill her husband. Vijay asked for Rs 1 lakh; she offered him Rs 50,000.Later, Prakash returned in his auto rickshaw pleaded to reconcile, and stayed for dinner. Soniya slept with her sister and children on the terrace, while he and Vijay remained downstairs. At night, she heard Prakash screams. The next morning, Vijay said he had killed the man and disposed of his body in a nearby drain. Soniya took the phone that Prakash had left behind.After the murder, Soniya arranged for Prakash’s auto rickshaw to be taken to Alipur. Vijay sent her a video and photo of the body via social media before deleting them. Vijay demanded money two days later. Borrowing from her neighbours, Soniya paid him Rs 50,000. She sold Prakash’s vehicle for Rs 4.5 lakh, cleared her debts, and used some of the remaining money to pay Rohit.Some days later, she filed a false missing report at Alipur police station. Some months later, she gave Rohit Prakash’s phone to destroy, which he told her he had done.In June 2025, Vijay was arrested in a theft case and was imprisoned in a Haryana jail. Rohit, with four previous criminal cases, including murder and arms violations, worked as a private cab driver between Sonipat and Delhi. He married in April this year but maintained an extramarital relationship with Soniya.
