A 32-year-old schoolteacher was shot dead allegedly by her husband, a Delhi Police constable, on a road in east Delhi’s Kalyanpuri early Monday, just hours after she celebrated her birthday at midnight, police said. The constable allegedly fled on his motorcycle, leaving his wife bleeding on the road.
Police identified the accused as constable Manish Bhati, posted with the anti-auto theft squad of the east district, and said he remains on the run. Multiple police teams have been formed to track him down.
The family of the woman, Priyanka Bhati, alleged that her husband and mother-in-law had harassed and abused her over dowry since her marriage in 2023. Priyanka was a teacher at Prudence School in Ashok Vihar.
According to police, the couple frequently fought over dowry and other domestic issues. On Sunday night, Bhati returned home from duty and allegedly got into an argument with his wife.
Investigators suspect that he was drunk and assaulted Priyanka during the altercation. The couple left their home between 2am and 3am.
“We are still trying to ascertain the exact sequence of events. Preliminary enquiry suggests that the accused was taking his wife to get medicines or have her injuries treated at a hospital, but they stopped midway and again argued on the road. The woman got off the vehicle. During the argument, the accused pulled out his service pistol and shot his wife in the chest. As she collapsed, he left her there and fled,” said a senior police officer, asking not to be named.
The officer said Bhati’s family was also not at their east Vinod Nagar residence.
Deputy commissioner of police (east) Rajeev Kumar said the matter was reported to police around 3am by a delivery executive who was passing through the area and spotted the woman lying in a pool of blood.
“A police team rushed her to LBS Hospital, where doctors declared her dead on arrival,” Kumar said.
Police said Priyanka was shot in the chest at point-blank range.
“Initial questioning of neighbours revealed that the couple used to have frequent arguments. Even on Sunday night, neighbours claimed they overheard an argument between the couple before they left home in the middle of the night. We are now questioning their family members,” the senior police officer said.
On Monday morning, Priyanka’s younger brother Nitin, a Uttar Pradesh Police constable, alleged that her husband frequently assaulted and abused her over dowry.
“He would harass my sister and tell her that his sister-in-law had brought ₹70 lakh in dowry, while we could not even manage ₹15 lakh. We had a lot of expectations when the wedding was fixed. One of my sisters is also with the Delhi Police, and we were happy that Priyanka was marrying a policeman. We never knew this would happen,” he said.
Nitin said Priyanka had returned to her parental home in tears barely a year after the wedding.
“Manish would assault her regularly, while her in-laws harassed her for dowry. She stayed with us for about nine months. They kept demanding ₹25 lakh. We lodged an FIR with the Delhi Police over dowry harassment and assault, but Manish later apologised and my sister forgave him. But he continued harassing and abusing her,” he said. A case was registred at the Madhu vihar police station in 2024.
The family alleged that Priyanka had often told them that her mother-in-law demanded her entire salary and harassed her for not having a child.
Nitin said the family had called Priyanka on Sunday night to wish her on her birthday and asked about her plans, but she told them she had none.
“We wish she had come home again. We always supported her. My sister was educated. She had completed her BTech, CTech and teachers’ training. He shot her on her birthday and left her to die,” he said.