Nearly a year after 42-year-old Pritam Prakash went missing from Delhi, police have solved the mystery — with his wife Soniya and her lover Rohit now arrested for his murder.
According to the Times of India, the case began when Soniya, 34, reported her husband missing on July 20, 2024, stating he vanished during the night of July 5–6. What initially appeared to be a disappearance was, in fact, a calculated murder plot.
Under the direction of DCP (Crime) Harsh Indora, Inspector Sandeep Tushir led a team that tracked Prakash’s mobile phone to Jaji village in Sonipat, Haryana. Rohit, 28, was caught using the device and initially denied involvement. However, under questioning, he confessed to an affair with Soniya and revealed the conspiracy.
Soniya had paid Vijay, her sister’s brother-in-law, to murder her husband. The body, unidentified at the time, was recovered from a drain in Gannaur on July 10, 2024. A murder case was registered, but the victim remained unnamed until Rohit’s arrest led investigators back to the old case.
Married at 16, Soniya had three children with Prakash. Their relationship soured over the years due to his drug addiction, frequent violence, and multiple criminal charges — ten in total.
In 2023, Soniya met Rohit, a taxi driver with a criminal background, through social media. As their relationship deepened, they allegedly viewed Prakash as an obstacle.
On July 2, 2024, after a heated argument, Soniya left for her sister Deepa’s home in Gannaur with Rohit. She initially asked Rohit to kill her husband, but he demanded Rs6 lakh and later disappeared due to unrelated legal issues.
On July 5, Prakash came to Gannaur to take Soniya back home. That night, she persuaded Vijay to murder him, offering Rs50,000. He agreed. While Soniya and her children slept on the terrace, Vijay and Prakash were downstairs. She awoke to her husband’s screams — the next morning, Vijay told her he had killed him and dumped the body.
Soniya took possession of her husband’s phone, later handed to Rohit. She arranged for the auto-rickshaw to be moved to Alipur and sold it for Rs4.5 lakh. She cleared debts and paid Rohit.
Days later, she filed a false missing person report at the Alipur police station. Meanwhile, Vijay sent her a video of the body before deleting it and demanded payment. Soniya borrowed from neighbors to pay him the agreed amount.
In June 2025, Vijay was arrested in a separate theft case, which helped reopen the murder file. Rohit, now married, continued his affair with Soniya.
Police say all parties involved are now in custody or under investigation.
