On March 22, 2025, near a temple on Manpur Road in Dalli Rajhara, Balod district, Chhattisgarh, high school teacher Barkha Vasnik and her colleague Mathura Mandavi were struck while riding a scooty by an unidentified Bolero vehicle. Bystanders found them critically injured around 4:30 PM; Barkha died before reaching the hospital, while Mathura survived severe injuries. Initially perceived as a hit-and-run road accident, Barkha's sister, Priyanka Dahare, suspected foul play due to Barkha's strained marriage and pending divorce with her husband, Sheeshpal Vasnik, an electricity department engineer stationed in Bhilai. Priyanka conducted her own investigation at Barkha's school, where students revealed that two men in a Bolero had inquired about Barkha's schedule on the day of the incident and identified Sheeshpal from a photograph. Medical evidence subsequently revealed heavy object trauma on Barkha's head and body alongside collision injuries. Police found that Sheeshpal had staged an alibi by giving his two mobile phones to two office colleagues in Durg, though call detail records (CDRs) showed the phones operating from divergent locations within Durg. Upon interrogation, Sheeshpal confessed to conspiring to kill his wife by framing it as an accident after watching approximately 150 crime serial episodes. He hired 24-year-old Kayamuddin for 60,000 INR to assist in the collision and subsequent assault with an iron rod. Police arrested both Sheeshpal Vasnik and Kayamuddin.
Country: India
State/Province: Chhattisgarh, India
City/Region: Dalli Rajhara
Incident Type: Murder
Relationship Status: Married
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Incident Date: March 22, 2025
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2025-03-22
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Domestic Violence
The case illustrates a severe escalation of intimate partner conflict where an estranged husband sought to murder his wife amidst an ongoing divorce dispute. Rather than confronting the victim directly or accepting legal divorce proceedings, the offender planned a contract killing designed to disguise the murder as a hit-and-run road accident. To evade law enforcement, he engineered digital alibis using multiple mobile devices entrusted to third parties.
Initially registered as an anonymous road accident, the investigation shifted focus after the victim's sister reported past death threats and marital disputes. Post-mortem findings corroborated physical violence inconsistent with mere vehicle impact, showing targeted heavy object blows to the head and back. Call Detail Record (CDR) analysis revealed a technological anomaly where the suspect's two active phones were operating from different cell towers in Durg simultaneously, breaking his fake alibi. Police arrested Sheeshpal Vasnik and contract killer Kayamuddin, recovering details of the conspiracy.
The primary investigative obstacle was the crime scene's initial presentation as an unobserved hit-and-run accident at 4:30 PM. Furthermore, the husband created a dual mobile alibi by distributing two phones to office personnel in Durg, causing CDR tower locations to show him in Durg rather than Dalli Rajhara during the incident.
On March 21, 2025, Sheeshpal Vasnik distributed his two active mobile phones to an office assistant and a driver in Durg to generate artificial movement and calls. On March 22, Sheeshpal and hired hitman Kayamuddin drove a Bolero to Sherpar High School to monitor Barkha Vasnik. As Barkha and Mathura Mandavi departed on a scooty around 2:15 PM, the Bolero followed and rammed them near Bajrangbali Temple on Manpur Road. Sheeshpal and Kayamuddin then struck Barkha with an iron rod before fleeing.
Domestic violence escalation prior to or during pending divorce proceedings presents extreme lethality risks. Perpetrators attempting to manipulate digital forensics may leave structural flaws, such as mismatched cell tower locations across multiple devices, which alert investigators to staged alibis.
The primary early signals included long-standing marital conflict, bitter disputes since marriage, pending divorce litigation, and prior death threats made by the suspect against the victim.
Crucial clues were gathered by the victim's sister, Priyanka, who questioned students at Sherpar High School. Students confirmed that two men in a Bolero were asking detailed questions about Barkha's schedule on March 22 and identified Sheeshpal Vasnik from a photograph.
Key evidence included post-mortem findings showing blunt force trauma to the head and back inconsistent with vehicle collision marks, alongside CDR analysis showing divergent tower locations for the suspect's two active phones in Durg.
Students and security guards at Sherpar High School stated that two men in a Bolero inquired about Barkha Vasnik's arrival, departure, and routine on March 22, claiming to be her acquaintances. School children recognized Sheeshpal Vasnik from a photo shown by the victim's sister.
Follow-up investigative actions shifted the case from an accidental vehicular death to a premeditated murder inquiry, uncovering contract killing arrangements and staged digital alibis.
The report does not specify the precise legal charges filed in court or the final outcome of trial proceedings against Sheeshpal Vasnik and Kayamuddin.