Manjeet Mishra, a 29-year-old IT engineer and government bank data manager living in Ghaziabad, was shot dead in his car on a Friday morning while commuting to his office in Greater Noida. The victim had been in an eight-year relationship with Megha Rathore before marrying her in January 2024. Following severe domestic conflict, financial disputes, and class/status mismatches, the couple separated in July 2024 after five months of marriage. Megha filed legal proceedings under Section 12 of the Domestic Violence Act, demanding crores in maintenance, stridhan, and medical expenses. Manjeet had previously submitted a complaint to Ghaziabad Police reporting threats to his life, though no preventive action was taken. Police investigation revealed that Megha's 32-year-old brother, Sachin Rathore, hired two shooters for 15 Lakh rupees with the assistance of a shop worker, Praveen Kumar. The shooters tracked Manjeet's vehicle from a hotel in Ghaziabad and shot him in the head near his office. Police arrested Sachin and Praveen, while booking Megha, her father Bhopal Singh Rathore, and her brother Rishabh. The shooters remain at large while police question Megha regarding her involvement.
Country: India
State/Province: Uttar Pradesh, India
City/Region: Greater Noida
Incident Type: Domestic Violence Homicide
Relationship Status: Separated
Relationship Duration: Approximately 8 years (dating) / 5 months (cohabitation)
Incident Date: None
Relationship Origins:
Relationship Stages:
Contributing Factors:
Red Flags:
Motives:
Relationship Outcomes:
How the relationship or connection began.
Approximately 8 years (dating) / 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.
Recorded relationship or case outcome.
English labels are shown first. Original-language titles are preserved for source verification.
Domestic Violence
The relationship developed during an eight-year period after meeting in school, leading to an intercaste love marriage in January 2024. Tensions escalated rapidly due to lifestyle disparities between Megha's wealthy builder family and Manjeet's modest background, disagreement over contact with Manjeet's birth family, and demands for separate living arrangements. Following separation five months post-marriage, legal proceedings under the Domestic Violence Act were instituted alongside financial demands amounting to several crores. The conflict escalated into third-party familial retaliation when Megha's brother contracted external hitmen to execute the victim.
Police traced the vehicle registration number found at the murder site near an office in Greater Noida back to Ghaziabad and Karkardooma, Delhi. CCTV analysis and car dashcam footage assisted investigators in tracking the suspects. Sachin Rathore confessed to paying 15 Lakh rupees to employee Praveen Kumar to hire two motorcycle shooters, who stayed at a Ghaziabad hotel prior to following Manjeet's car. Sachin Rathore and Praveen Kumar have been arrested, while Megha, Bhopal Singh Rathore, and Rishabh Rathore were booked. Megha is under ongoing interrogation, while the two hired shooters remain at large.
Initial confusion surrounded whether the victim was targeted due to personal disputes or armed robbery, until vehicle identification connected the crime to his ongoing marital dispute in Delhi. Investigators also faced questions regarding whether Megha had direct knowledge or consent in her brother's contract killing scheme or if her brother acted independently out of rage and personal grievance.
After Megha returned to her family home in July 2024 and filed domestic violence and court mediation cases demanding large monetary payouts, her brother Sachin Rathore observed her ongoing emotional distress. Upset by the failed marriage and driven by anger, Sachin offered 15 Lakh rupees to his employee Praveen Kumar to organize a contract killing. Praveen hired two hitmen who surveilled Manjeet's daily commute from a hotel in Ghaziabad. On Friday morning, as Manjeet drove toward his office in Greater Noida, the shooters followed his vehicle on an unplated motorcycle and shot him in the head in a deserted area.
The case presented severe risk indicators including high-conflict marital separation, coercive financial demands, extreme third-party family involvement, and an unheeded prior police complaint by the victim regarding life threats. The transition from active court mediation to contract violence demonstrates how unresolved domestic disputes involving influential, high-conflict family members can rapidly escalate into lethal targeted violence.
Severe domestic and financial litigation combined with aggressive third-party family intervention can serve as a catalyst for extreme violence. Unaddressed threat complaints submitted to law enforcement leave victims vulnerable to planned retaliation during high-conflict marital separations.
Early warning signals included persistent disputes over family contact within days of marriage, rapid separation after five months, high financial compensation demands in court, and an explicit life threat complaint filed by Manjeet with Ghaziabad Police.
Key clues included the registration of Manjeet's vehicle found at the scene, dashcam camera evidence fitted on the vehicle, CCTV footage along the route, and hotel records in Ghaziabad where the shooters stayed.
Strongest evidence types included the victim's vehicle dashcam footage, route CCTV surveillance, financial transaction records regarding the 15 Lakh rupee contract, and confession statements from Sachin Rathore.
Manjeet's mother stated that her husband was killed the previous year and Manjeet was her only son, demanding severe punishment for the perpetrators. Manjeet's sister detailed their modest Bihar background compared to Megha's wealthy builder family and reported that Manjeet faced intense pressure and restrictions regarding seeing his family.
Follow-up reporting revealed that the two hitmen had been identified but remained uncaptured, while police intensified questioning of Megha regarding her potential involvement or prior knowledge of the murder plot.
Unresolved elements include the location and capture of the two hired shooters, the origin of the firearm used, whether Megha actively authorized or knew about the contract plot, and the complete details of Manjeet's earlier threat complaint to Ghaziabad Police.