Nikita Tomar murder: 2018 abduction case of student who was shot dead reopened

The police have reopened a two-year-old abduction case pertaining to Nikita Tomar, a student who was shot dead by a former classmate outside her college in Faridabad on October 26. The woman’s family alleged that the accused in the shooting incident had kidnapped her in August 2018 and held her hostage at a place in Sohna, threatening her to convert to his religion and marry him.

The police on Wednesday summoned five family members, including parents of the accused, Touseef Ahmad, asking them to join the investigation, as the woman’s family alleged that they had played a major role in threatening them to compromise in the abduction case.

Adal Singh Rawat, a maternal uncle of Tomar, alleged that she was abducted for three days in August 2018. “She was abducted and was threatened for life. Not only the suspect, but his relatives and parents also had forced her to marry him and were forcing her to convert (her religion). Later, the family used their political powers and forced us to withdraw the complaint. She was scared for her life and knew the suspect would harm her,” he said.

Javed Ahmad, Touseef’s uncle, refuted the allegations of conversion and said that they have received a summons from the Faridabad Police despite having no involvement in the incident. “Both of them wanted to get married and there was no pressure on Tomar. Both the families had mutually resolved the issue and had asked both of them not to be in touch any longer. If we had used powers and forced her to change religion, then why did a wedding never took place?” he said.

The testimonies of three witnesses — Tomar’s brother, cousin and a friend — were recorded on Tuesday and Wednesday at the district and sessions court, in presence of judge Sartaj Baswan. The friend was with her at the time of the murder, the police said on Thursday.

After the murder, a special investigation team (SIT) was formed on October 27, led by Anil Kumar Yadav, assistant commissioner of police (crime), to probe the case.

On November 6, the SIT filed a 700-page chargesheet in the murder case. Police said the chargesheet, which lists 60 witnesses, was prepared on the basis of technical, forensic and material evidence recovered during the investigation and was submitted to the court in less than two weeks after the murder.

The charges against the suspects were framed on November 23 and the trial in the case began on December 1. Statements of three of the 60 witnesses listed by the police have been recorded so far.

The police said statements of 15 more witnesses will be recorded between December 7 and 9.

The police said the chargesheet is based on scientific forensic evidence, CCTV camera footage, call detail record (CDR) locations, and swabs collected from the shirt of the suspect, his car and gunpowder swab from his hand.

Fingerprints were matched from three samples — from the car, pistol and the woman’s arm — the police said.

Tomar was shot dead by Touseef, a resident of Kabeer Nagar in Sohna, in the presence of his friend, Rehaan, a resident of Riwasan in Nuh. Footage of the incident purportedly shows the two trying to force Tomar, a BCom final-year student, into their vehicle when she exits Aggarwal College after writing an exam, the police said.

Anil Yadav, the assistant commissioner of police (crime), said that in the chargesheet, the motive behind the murder has been mentioned as personal enmity, as Tomar had stopped talking to Touseef after the abduction incident and a case her family had registered against him.

The police said he had conducted a recce of the college and her residence twice in the week before the murder. He had bought a countrymade gun for Rs 7,000 from one Mohammad Azruddin, of Nuh. The police said Azruddin is a close aide of Touseef’s uncle, who is in Bhondsi jail for abducting a Gurugram police inspector.

Yadav said that the countrymade pistol had only one bullet and he intended to shoot her at point-blank range in the chest. He had come with the intention to murder her, he said. “Touseef had allegedly borrowed his brother’s mobile phone a few days ago and was enraged to find that he was in touch with a woman named Nikita. But that woman was from another city in Uttar Pradesh and it was just a coincidence that the two had similar names,” said Yadav.

OP Singh, commissioner of police said that they are investigating the case from all angles and have ensured the safety and security of Tomar’s family members. “We have deployed personnel at Tomar’s residence and an arms licence has also been provided to the brother. We have already submitted the chargesheet and if required, a supplementary chargesheet will be submitted. The investigation conducted by SIT has enough witnesses and evidence to prove the suspect guilty,” he said.

He said that the family members of Touseef, who have been issued a summons, should join the investigation and if found clean, will be given clean chit. We are following all protocols, Singh said.