Angel's Fall: How love, lies, and a lethal script unfolded for a Delhi murder that found closure after 7 years
In a final chapter to a real-life thriller, a Delhi court has sentenced model and actress Angel Gupta, her lover Manjeet, and their accomplices to life imprisonment for the contract killing of Manjeet's wife, Sunita, reported TOI.
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The verdict, delivered three days ago, comes nearly seven years after the chilling crime and marks the end of a high-profile investigation into a love affair that turned lethal.
Sunita's children, though still grappling with their loss, now have a measure of justice. For the convicts, however, life behind bars seems to carry little remorse—only fleeting glances and cold silence within the walls of Tihar Jail.
The obsession that sparked a murder
According to the TOI report, Angel Gupta, 26, once dreamed of fame and stardom. A model and actress with small roles in TV soaps and item numbers, her life had all the trappings of a tabloid star. But beneath the glamour was a story of decline, desperation—and deadly desire.
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Born Shashi Prabha, she reinvented herself as Angel Gupta, claiming a London background after spending time in Germany.
She graced Page 3 parties and magazine covers, but by 2016, the spotlight began to fade. Struggling financially and emotionally, she returned to Delhi.
It was there, at a nightclub lit by strobe lights and chance, that she met Manjeet, a 35-year-old businessman, said the report.Their chemistry was instant. What began as an affair soon turned into a fixation that would prove fatal.
A wife's resistance and a lover's rage
Manjeet was married to Sunita, a 38-year-old schoolteacher and devoted mother of two. When Sunita discovered the affair, she demanded her husband end it, refusing to dissolve their marriage.
Her heartbreak and defiance found a voice in a diary, where she recorded her anguish in silence.
But Angel saw Sunita as the last obstacle in her path. Her desperation spiralled into fury, and with Manjeet by her side, she turned to her stepfather Rajeev to help execute a deadly plan, TOI further reported.
The blueprint for murder
Rajeev's driver, Deepak, helped the couple hire two contract killers. They paid ₹2.5 lakh upfront, promising another ₹7.5 lakh after the job was done.
The murder was originally plotted for October 25, 2018—Karva Chauth—but the plan failed. Four days later, on October 29, Sunita left for school as usual.
TOI also said that she was ambushed and gunned down near the Dariyapur police post. The killers vanished into the morning haze.
Angel had rehearsed the attack in advance, riding a scooter to trace Sunita's commute. The conspiracy had been chillingly calculated.
A diary, digital trails, and a breakthrough
Delhi Police launched a meticulous investigation. Surveillance footage, phone records, bank transfers, and mobile tower data pointed to an elaborate plot.
But it was Sunita's diary—handed over by her daughter—that cemented the motive and exposed the betrayal, said the report.
The suspects' conflicting alibis, along with forensic matches from recovered vehicles and weapons, sealed the case. Eventually, Angel, Manjeet, Rajeev, Deepak, and the two hired shooters were arrested and charged.
Justice served—but no sign of remorse
On April 28, the court declared all six guilty.
Life sentences were announced days later. While the judgment brought some peace to Sunita's family, the sight inside Tihar remains unsettling: Angel and Manjeet, still bound by their toxic bond, show little trace of guilt, noted the report.
Their story is a grim reminder of how fantasy, obsession, and ego can erupt into real-world tragedy—with lives destroyed and justice long in the making.
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