Sahil Gehlot's father, 4 others arrested in Nikki Yadav murder case

The incident had come to light on February 14, Valentine's Day, four days after the crime.

The five men arrested in connection with the killing of 23-year-old Nikki Yadav had planned to get rid of her so that Sahil Gehlot could marry a second time to a woman of the family's choosing, police said on Saturday.

During interrogation, it was revealed that Mr. Gehlot's family was very much aware of his marriage to Ms. Yadav but they were against it, the police said.

Police arrested five people -- Mr. Gehlot's father, his two cousins and two friends -- late Friday night in connection with the killing. One of the cousins is a Delhi Police constable. Gehlot was arrested earlier.

"Mr. Gehlot had married Ms. Yadav at an Arya Samaj temple in 2020. The couple had not informed their respective families about their marriage. However, when Mr. Gehlot's parents started looking for a girl for his marriage and started pressuring him to take interest in marriage..., he finally revealed to his family that he was already married," a police officer privy to the probe told PTI.

However, when Mr. Gehlot's family got to know about his marriage to Ms. Yadav, they expressed their displeasure over him marrying a girl of his choice without informing them.

"On multiple occasions, the accused persons persuaded him to leave Nikki Yadav and get her out of the way. They kept putting pressure on him and he also failed to convince his family members," the officer said.

After his second marriage date was fixed, the accused persons kept persuading Mr. Gehlot to get rid of Ms. Yadav so that he can marry the girl his family chose, police said.