Delhi model, her lover get life term in 2018 murder case of school teacher

India Today

12-05-2025

A Delhi court has sentenced model Angel Gupta, alias Shashi Prabha, and her lover Manjeet Sehrawat to life imprisonment for the murder of Manjeet's wife, Sunita Sehrawat. The court called it a "well-planned criminal conspiracy" executed with chilling precision.Gupta, once a model who performed in item songs and aspired for a Bollywood career, will now spend the rest of her life behind bars in Tihar Jail.advertisementCASESunita Sehrawat, a 38-year-old primary school teacher in Sonipat, Haryana, was gunned down on October 29, 2018, while on her way to school. That day was especially important for her as she was to be felicitated for her academic contributions. As she reached the Bawana area in Delhi, two hired shooters fired three bullets at her from close range, killing her on the spot.INVESTIGATION
The investigation initially hit a wall as Manjeet attempted to mislead the police. The breakthrough came when Sunita's personal diary was recovered. In it, she had documented her growing fears about her husband's extramarital affair and her belief that he might harm her.Phone records and location data soon revealed frequent communication and proximity between Manjeet and Angel both before and after the murder. Further digging uncovered a disturbing plot: Manjeet and Angel had hired a contract killer named Rajeev alias Vishal alias Johny for Rs 10 lakh to eliminate Sunita. Manjeet had even paid for the first installment online, a move that proved to be a key mistake.advertisementAccording to court findings, the illicit relationship between Manjeet and Angel began in 2016 and faced strong objections from both families. Despite this, the two continued their affair. In October 2017, Angel demanded that Manjeet celebrate Karwa Chauth with her instead of his wife. When he declined, they allegedly began planning Sunita's murder.WHAT COURT SAIDTheir first attempt on October 26, 2018, failed when the shooters couldn't identify the target. Three days later, on October 29, they succeeded. The Rohini court convicted six individuals under Sections 302 (murder) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. Those sentenced include: Manjeet Sehrawat (husband of the deceased), Angel Gupta (model and Manjeet's girlfriend), Vishal alias Johny (shooter), Deepak (driver), Dharmendra (associated with the shooters) and Shehzad Saifi (shooter).The court observed that Sunita was murdered solely because she stood in the way of her husband and his lover's desire to be together. "This court has no hesitation in saying that it is a cold-blooded murder of a lady who was trying to save her matrimonial life and the future of her children," the court said.