PU asst prof held for dowry death case: Victim’s phone call recordings deleted, alleges father - Hindustan Times
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PU asst prof held for dowry death case: Victim’s phone call recordings deleted, alleges father

By, Chandigarh
Feb 20, 2023 02:52 AM IST

According to Chandigarh Police, the woman’s father alleged that his daughter’s phone recorded calls automatically, but after her death, they didn’t find the recordings of their conversations with her on Thursday, a day before she was found dead

A day after police arrested Sachin Chahal, an assistant professor at Panjab University, for dowry death after his wife, a former national-level archery player, was found hanging at their house in Nayagaon on Friday, police have sent the deceased’s mobile phone for forensic analysis on her father’s insistence.

The woman was found hanging at her house in Nayagaon on Friday, said Chandigarh Police. (iStock)
The woman was found hanging at her house in Nayagaon on Friday, said Chandigarh Police. (iStock)

According to police, the woman’s father alleged that his daughter’s phone recorded calls automatically, but after her death, they didn’t find the recordings of their conversations with her on Thursday, a day before she was found dead.

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“Based on the father’s suspicions of attempts to destroy crucial evidence, we have sent the deceased’s phone to a forensic lab. Adequate action will follow if there are signs of foul play behind her death,” said a senior police official, attached with the probe.

Police said while Sachin, 30, taught at PU’s history department, his wife, 27, apart from competing in archery, also held an MA (History) degree from PU. She was also preparing to get a teaching job at PU. Sachin hails from Jind, Haryana, while his wife was from Abohar, Punjab.

Autopsy report awaited

Meanwhile, the autopsy report of the deceased is awaited. “The post-mortem examination was conducted by a board of doctors at the civil hospital in Phase 6, Mohali. Prima facie, the woman died by hanging, but the report will provide the clear cause behind her death,” shared the official.

Spent night at friend’s house, says accused

Currently in two-day police custody, Sachin told the police that when he returned home from work on Thursday evening, his wife didn’t open the door of her room.

“The couple lived by themselves. As per the accused, since they had a fight on Thursday morning, he didn’t force her to open the door and instead left to spend the night at a friend’s place. When he returned home on Friday, his wife had still not opened the door, so he contacted her family and got the door opened with a labourer’s help to find his wife hanging in the room,” said a police official.

Suspecting foul play, the woman’s father questioned why Sachin didn’t get the door opened on Thursday or inform them the same day. He also expressed concern over police not nominating his family members in the dowry death FIR, even though they had been torturing his daughter for a car and a flat in Chandigarh.

On this, a senior police official said the couple lived alone, so they had not booked her in-laws. “We are conducting a transparent investigation without any pressure,” the official added. The accused will be produced in court again on Monday.

Gold medallist archer met husband at PU

The deceased, according to her father, had won two gold medals in archery at national level. She had met the accused, Sachin, at PU a few years ago while she was pursuing her MA in history.

“We wanted her to marry a doctor based in Rajasthan, but she insisted on marrying Sachin. They got engaged in 2021 and got married on November 4 last year after Sachin secured a job at PU,” her father said.

He added that his daughter had previously worked as a lecturer at DAV College, Abohar, and was aiming for a teaching job at PU to join her husband.

The victim was cremated in Abohar on Saturday. She leaves behind her parents, a sister and a brother. Her father is a farmer and businessman, and mother is a homemaker. Her sister is an HR executive at a hospital in Gurugram, while her brother is settled in Australia.

The accused’s father is also a retired teacher, while mother is a homemaker.

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