On February 21, 2025, around 9:00 AM, Manjeet Mishra, a 29-year-old IT engineer working as a data manager at a government bank in Greater Noida, was shot dead inside his car while commuting to work. Manjeet had been in an 8-year relationship with Megha before they married on January 28, 2024. Following the death of Manjeet's father shortly after the wedding, marital friction escalated, leading Megha to move back to her family home in Karkardooma, Delhi, in July 2024 after five months of living together. Court mediation proceedings and divorce discussions were underway, while financial demands including a compensation request of Rs 1 crore were made by Megha's family. Distressed by his sister's unhappiness and the ongoing legal disputes, Megha's 32-year-old brother, Sachin Rathore, allegedly conspired to eliminate Manjeet. Sachin hired Praveen Kumar, an employee at his shop from Baghpat, offering Rs 1.5 lakh to carry out the murder contract. Praveen and hired shooters tracked Manjeet's vehicle from a hotel in Ghaziabad and shot him in the head in Greater Noida. Noida Central Police, led by DCP Shakti Mohan Awasthi, solved the case using CCTV footage and vehicle registration records, arresting Sachin and Praveen. Complaints and FIR bookings were also registered against Megha, her father Bhopal Singh Rathore, and her brother Rishabh, with police continuing to investigate their specific involvement.
Country: India
State/Province: Uttar Pradesh, India
City/Region: Greater Noida
Incident Type: Domestic Violence Homicide
Relationship Status: Separated
Relationship Duration: 8 years (relationship), 5 months (cohabitation)
Incident Date: Feb. 21, 2025
Relationship Origins:
Relationship Stages:
Contributing Factors:
Red Flags:
Motives:
Relationship Outcomes:
How the relationship or connection began.
8 years (relationship), 5 months (cohabitation)
Important relationship phases recorded for this case.
Reported red flags or early concern points.
Contributing factors and possible motives from the available sources.
2025-02-21
Recorded relationship or case outcome.
English labels are shown first. Original-language titles are preserved for source verification.
Family Opposition
The relationship originated as an 8-year courtship that led to marriage in January 2024. Following the death of the victim's father, acute interpersonal friction arose, leading to separation after five months and court mediation in Karkardooma. The conflict expanded into an inter-family feud where the bride's brother took on a protective and vengeful role. Driven by resentment over his sister's distress and ongoing legal dispute, he orchestrated a fatal hit using a hired employee, exemplifying contract violence arising from retaliatory family dynamics during marital breakdown.
Noida Police tracked the victim's vehicle registration number to identify him and utilized CCTV footage along route checkpoints from Ghaziabad to Greater Noida to identify the suspects. Dashcam footage from Manjeet's car and tracking hotel stays in Ghaziabad provided key evidence. Mastermind Sachin Rathore and accomplice Praveen Kumar were arrested, while hitmen who fired the shots are being pursued. Police booked wife Megha, father-in-law Bhopal Singh Rathore, and brother-in-law Rishabh, with ongoing inquiries to determine whether they had direct prior knowledge or consented to the contract killing plot.
Initial confusion existed regarding whether the shooting was a random road crime or targeted hit. Upon identifying Manjeet Mishra and discovering his ongoing court mediation and prior complaint to Ghaziabad Police regarding life threats, focus shifted to his in-laws. Police also examined whether the wife, father-in-law, and second brother were co-conspirators or if Sachin Rathore acted independently without their explicit authorization.
After five months of marriage, Megha returned to her family home in July 2024 amid severe marital strain and ongoing court mediation in Karkardooma. Troubled by her distress and escalating court disputes, her brother Sachin Rathore decided to eliminate Manjeet. Sachin offered Rs 1.5 lakh to his shop employee Praveen Kumar to organize shooters. The conspirators stayed at a hotel in Ghaziabad, tracked Manjeet's morning commute toward his Greater Noida office, and executed a targeted drive-by shooting using an unnumbered motorcycle on February 21, 2025.
The case reflects severe risk markers during marital separation, specifically when in-laws become directly involved in domestic grievances and formal legal mediation. Prior threats reported by the victim to Ghaziabad police underscored an escalating danger profile that went unmitigated. The availability of illegal firearms and third-party contract hitmen significantly heightened the lethality risk, resulting in a targeted ambush.
Threat complaints filed by individuals undergoing high-conflict marital separations require immediate, proactive risk assessment by law enforcement. In-law intervention in marital disputes can rapidly escalate from financial demands and court litigation to fatal retaliatory conspiracies.
Manjeet Mishra filed an explicit threat complaint with the Ghaziabad Police prior to the incident stating his life was in danger due to the ongoing dispute with his in-laws.
CCTV footage along the travel route, hotel stay records in Ghaziabad, vehicle registration details, and dashcam evidence from Manjeet's vehicle led police to his in-laws' home in Karkardooma.
Statements and confessions from Sachin Rathore and Praveen Kumar, CCTV records showing the unnumbered motorcycle, dashcam footage, and financial contract trail of Rs 1.5 lakh.
DCP Central Noida Shakti Mohan Awasthi reported that Sachin admitted to being troubled by ongoing litigation and mediation, prompting him to offer a Rs 1.5 lakh contract through Praveen Kumar to kill Manjeet.
Initial reports confirmed the murder of Manjeet in his vehicle; follow-up investigations revealed the contract killing conspiracy orchestrated by his brother-in-law Sachin Rathore and shop worker Praveen Kumar.
The exact role and prior knowledge of wife Megha, father-in-law Bhopal Singh Rathore, and brother Rishabh remain under investigation, as well as the identification and physical apprehension of the hired motorcycle shooters.