Nearly two-and-a-half-months after the remains of a 22-year-old former Delhi Police constable, Monika Yadav, were recovered from a marshy swamp in outer Delhi’s Alipur, crime branch officers of the Delhi Police on Friday said that Yadav’s DNA sample has matched with her mother’s.
The forensic team shared the DNA report with the investigators earlier this week and confirmed that the human remains recovered from the Alipur swamp were that of Yadav — providing the police with crucial evidence in the case, officers aware of the matter said.
Yadav’s body was buried in the swamp by her former colleague, 42-year-old Delhi Police head constable Surender Singh Rana, after he strangled her to death two years ago.
“Our entire case depended on the DNA outcome because the victim’s head had still not been found. The recovery of her remains was made nearly two years after her murder. The case against the accused would have fallen flat in the court of law if the DNA samples had not matched,” said a crime branch officer, requesting anonymity.
Another police officer said that the investigation team can now complete the charge sheet in the case, which will likely be submitted before the court next week. The DNA report would help investigators prepare a strong charge sheet against Rana and the co-accused — his brother-in-law, Ravin, 26, and associate Rajpal, 33 (both known by their first names), the second officer said.
Yadav and Rana met in 2018 when she joined the Delhi Police as a constable and they became friends, with Rana mentoring Yadav. Yadav then quit the Delhi Police in 2020 after her selection as a sub-inspector with the UP Police. Police said he began stalking her in early 2021, when she moved into a PG accommodation in Mukherjee Nagar to prepare for civil services exams. On September 8, 2021, after killing her and burying the body, Rana deceived Yadav’s family and the police for two years by making them believe that she was alive but did not want to be traced, as she had eloped with a man from another caste.
