NEW DELHI: Ten years ago, Seema was all of 21 when her family got her married to a dairy businessman in Rohini area. Even as she shifted from her village in UP, Seema allegedly continued her affair with Gaurav, who was 19 at the time. He would often come to Delhi and visit her at home when her husband was away.
For some time, the affair took a pause - Seema got busy with her family and became a mother to three children while Gaurav had his studies and job to attend to.
A few years ago, Seema's husband Pradeep started spending the nights at his dairy farm and came home only in the morning. Seema reignited the affair with Gaurav, who asked her to convince Pradeep to keep him as a tenant. When her husband would leave home in the evening, Seema would allegedly sedate her in-laws by mixing sleeping pills in their milk and food to avoid getting caught. Last month, when her mother-in-law passed away in her sleep, it was assumed to be a natural death.
The same week, the affair was exposed after one of Pradeep's employees spotted Seema and Gaurav together. Forced to confront her husband, the two allegedly hatched a plan to eliminate Pradeep so that they could live together. Inspired by crime shows on OTT platforms, they allegedly decided to hire contract killers using the money they had saved.
Using a friend's contacts, Gaurav allegedly got in touch with five men from UP's Bulandshahr who charged Rs 20 lakh - Rs 4 lakh each - to make the murder look like a robbery bid. The men were briefed about Pradeep's daily routine and the route he often took. They also arranged for the guns.
On Monday, Pradeep left home around 5am for work on his bike. As he reached a traffic signal on Helipad Road near Rohini, the men, who were on two Splendor motorcycles, intercepted him. Pradeep was shot dead from point-blank range. Police received a call at 5.53am and rushed to the spot. The men had fled by then. "A team led by ACP Brahamjeet Singh and inspector Ishwar Singh began probe," said DCP (Rohini) Pranav Tayal.
When cops went to interview Seema, they found her "inconsolable". However, they learnt about the affair soon enough. Tracing suspicious calls, they picked up Gaurav's friend Vishan Kumar (18). Allegedly one of the five contract killers, his phone had been used to communicate with Seema. Kumar spilled the beans, after which Gaurav was arrested. He led police to the other contract killers - Rinku Panwar (22), Saurabh Chaudhary (23), Prashant (22) and Parvinder (27). They were nabbed after their locations were ascertained in Noida and Khanpur and Sultanpuri in Delhi. Seema was arrested too. "Gaurav and Seema were having an affair and decided to eliminate Pradeep," the DCP said.
The death of Pradeep's mother is also being probed now, police said.
