Days after 44-year-old Rachna Yadav — a key witness in her husband’s murder — was shot dead near her residence in Shalimar Bagh, Delhi Police have arrested the prime suspect, Bharat Yadav, from Bihar.
Police said he was also involved in her husband Vijendra Yadav’s murder case in 2023 and had been absconding since then.
Police said two of his associates, Nikhil and Sumit, have been nabbed from Haryana. Police said the duo are first-time offenders who were promised Rs 5 lakh for committing the crime.
The motorcycle used in the commission of crime, and other logistics, were provided by Bharat. The bike was stolen from Subhash Place area in September 2025. The three accused were arrested on Monday around 11.45 pm.
Rachna, who was the President of the RWA of her block, was to depose before the court in her husband’s murder case after she missed the first hearing earlier in January.
The incident took place close to the Delhi CM’s family residence on January 10. Sources said Rachna was returning home after attending the funeral of a neighbour when two assailants intercepted her. One of them allegedly stopped her and asked her name. When she identified herself, the man pulled out a firearm and shot her.
Police said her husband, a history-sheeter from Jahangirpuri who had been arrested in multiple cases, including murder, was gunned down on May 22, 2023, while attending a langar near his property office in Bhalswa.
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Police had arrested five people in connection with Vijendra’s murder at the time.
Sources said both Vijendra and Bharat had wanted to contest the 2022 MCD polls on an AAP ticket, which led to arguments between them on social media.
Police suspect that old rivalries may have fuelled both murders.
Earlier, Rachna’s daughter, Kanika, had said she was worried about their safety.Speaking about the police protection her mother refused to take, Kanika had said, “My dad used to say: ‘Kisiki maut jab aayegi tab koi nahi rok payega (Death will arrive when it has to, nobody can stop it).’ We want the killers to be shot dead the same way they killed our parents. My father was shot dead and now my mother”.
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Following the arrest of the three men, she said on Tuesday: “Thank you to the police team who helped us. If Bharat had been caught after my father’s death, our mother would still be with us.”
