The Chandigarh Police, after arresting a suspect in a series of rapes and murders, claim they've solved a duo of sensational murder cases. Initially, the Neha Ahlawat murder dated back 14 years ago while the second, the Mandeep murder, took place just two years prior. Besides these, an earlier case had occurred in Himachal Pradesh. Each incident followed a gruesome pattern: the girls were first assaulted and then mercilessly killed. The accused, Monu Kumar, now in custody, hails from Bihar, but was living in Chandigarh's Sector-38 Shahpur Colony. His murderous track record is as blood-curdling as they come.
To fully grasp this story, we need to revisit a heart-wrenching event from 14 years ago. On July 30, 2010, in Chandigarh's Sector 38, 21-year-old MBA student Neha Ahlawat set out for her coaching class in the evening, a routine she usually completed by 9 PM. However, that day, she neither returned home nor could be reached by phone, which was mysteriously turned off. After family members initially tried to find her themselves, contacting the coaching institute to no avail, they reported her missing at the Sector 39 police station. Continuing their search fervently, they stumbled upon her scooter near the Karan Taxi Stand in Sector 38, ominously splattered with blood. Their search culminated in a horrifying sight no one wishes to witness: Neha's lifeless, unclothed body lay in some bushes, soaked in blood.
They rushed her to the PGI hospital, hoping for a miracle, but she was pronounced brought dead—her demise preceding hospital admission. The marks on her head suggested a heavy object attack, alongside signs of strangulation and evidence of assault on her private parts. Forensic teams collected DNA samples from the assailant off her corpse.
The subsequent inquiry and progression of time yielded no leads to Neha's killer. Eventually, the high-profile case was declared unsolved in court despite the continued efforts of her family who firmly believed the killer would one day be caught.
Source: aajtak
The Mandeep Homicide Occurs 12 Years Post Neha Murder Case
January 12, 2022, 11 AM, a forested area in Chandigarh's Maloya became the scene of a crime eerily similar to the one a dozen years before. This time, the unclothed body of a 40-year-old woman, battered and bound, was discovered, her private parts grievously mutilated. Her identity was established as Mandeep Kaur, a resident of the same city.
Her husband had reported her missing the night before, stating she had not returned from a nearby market. Police, recalling the chilling similarities to the unsolved case of Neha Ahlawat—including the heinous assault—commenced an earnest investigation. Despite the collected DNA evidence at the crime scene, it took months before authorities could connect the dots.
Breakthrough in the Case Under the Guidance of SSP Kanwarpreet Kaur
It was the DNA samples—blood, semen, and other body deposits—collected by police and forensics experts that eventually, after eight months of dedicated work, matched one of the hundred sampled suspects with the DNA found on Kaur's body. The revelation that these two murders were committed by the same individual, Monu Kumar, a taxi driver with a drug addiction, was both a breakthrough and a chilling confirmation of a serial offender in their midst.
The meticulous efforts of the Chandigarh Police, led by SSP Kanwarpreet Kaur, demonstrated the importance of revisiting cold cases. With advancement in DNA analysis, a killer's spree spanning over a decade was finally brought to a halt. These remarkable efforts serve as a stern warning to criminals lurking in the shadows: justice, however delayed, will catch up.
Source: aajtak
