The State
A tragic incident in Noida overshadowed Valentine’s Day when the bodies of a young couple were found inside a locked car with gunshot wounds. Police have recovered a pistol from the vehicle and are investigating whether it was a case of murder-suicide or foul play.
Police in Noida’s Sector 39 area were alerted by residents who reported hearing gunshots near Dadri Road on Saturday morning. When officers arrived, they found the bodies of a 32-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman inside a locked car. A pistol and cartridges were also recovered from the scene.
The deceased have been identified as Sumit (32), a resident of Trilokpuri in Delhi, and Rekha (26), a resident of Sector 58 in Noida. Both had reportedly been missing since the previous day, and missing-person reports had been filed by their families.
Police said they found a WhatsApp message allegedly sent by Sumit shortly before the incident. The message detailed the couple’s 15-year-long relationship and claimed that Rekha had promised to marry him but was now planning to marry someone else. In the note, Sumit wrote that he was going to die and held Rekha responsible.
Officials have sent both bodies for post-mortem, and forensic teams are examining the scene.
While police initially treated the case as a suspected suicide or murder-suicide, Sumit’s family has raised doubts about the circumstances. They alleged the couple may have been murdered and cited caste-related tensions involving Rekha’s family. Sumit’s relatives said threatening calls were received, including from international numbers, and pointed to the location — just a few hundred meters from Rekha’s village — as suspicious.
Investigators said all angles are being examined, including possible foul play, and are continuing to question both families and forensic evidence.