On October 22, 2025, 38-year-old Neelu Raikwar (also spelled Neelu Raykar), the district secretary of the Nishad Party in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, was found dead under suspicious circumstances, hanging from a ceiling fan in her rented flat in Friends Colony, Balaji Tower basement, Jhansi. She had been married to Shivkumar Raykar (also known as S.K. Baba), the Jhansi district president of the Nishad Party, for 13 years, but had been living separately in a rented apartment for the past eight to nine months following severe marital conflict, physical violence, and allegations of her husband's extramarital affairs. Following the discovery of her body, Neelu's mother, Rekha Raikwar, publicly accused Shivkumar and his family of physical abuse, mental torture, and sending explicit photos with other women to harass Neelu. Rekha revealed that Neelu had been beaten and thrown out of her in-laws' home in the middle of the night months earlier, and that her children were kept by her husband. Prior to her death, Neelu had publicly voiced her safety concerns during a party rally and filed an unacted-upon complaint at the Sipri police station. On October 21, Neelu visited her in-laws' home to buy Diwali clothes for her two children. Hours later, after she failed to answer phone calls on October 22, her mother and brother arrived at her flat, alerted the police, and broke open the door to discover her body. Shivkumar denied all allegations, claiming political conspiracy by rivals, while simultaneously suggesting foul play by stating the body looked like someone had hanged her. Police stated that preliminary findings suggested suicide by hanging, but launched an ongoing investigation pending full postmortem results.
Country: India
State/Province: Uttar Pradesh, India
City/Region: Jhansi
Incident Type: Domestic Violence Homicide
Relationship Status: Separated
Relationship Duration: 13 years
Incident Date: Oct. 22, 2025
Relationship Origins:
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How the relationship or connection began.
13 years
Important relationship phases recorded for this case.
Reported red flags or early concern points.
Contributing factors and possible motives from the available sources.
2025-10-22
Recorded relationship or case outcome.
English labels are shown first. Original-language titles are preserved for source verification.
Crime Tak - India · Original language: Hindi
UP:जिलाध्यक्ष के लड़कियों से संबंध!, बीवी के साथ मारपीट,बेटी की मौत पर मां ने दामाद की सच्चाई बताई
Domestic Violence
The relationship exhibits a classic pattern of severe domestic abuse, physical assault, emotional degradation, and coercive control within a political power dynamic. The victim suffered ongoing physical beatings, was forcibly separated from her two children, and was subjected to emotional distress through her husband's open extramarital relationships and explicit photos. Despite seeking formal help through police complaints and political party channels, no protective intervention was established, leaving her isolated in a rented flat prior to her death.
Police broke into the basement flat at Friends Colony, Balaji Tower, Gwalior Road, Jhansi, on October 22 after receiving reports from the victim's mother that the flat was unresponsive. Forensic teams gathered evidence at the scene where Neelu's body was found hanging from a ceiling fan. The victim's mother alleged long-term physical abuse, expulsion from the household late at night, and mental harassment by Shivkumar and his brothers. Shivkumar denied the abuse claims, blaming political rivals for targeting him, but made contradictory claims regarding her residence and stated that the physical scene looked like foul play/hanging by a third party. Police preliminary assessments leaned toward suicide, but full forensic and postmortem investigation remains active.
There is key narrative disagreement between the police's preliminary finding of suicide and the victim's family's allegations of severe harassment, domestic violence, and potential foul play. Further confusion stems from Shivkumar Raykar's conflicting statements: he claimed his wife was living with her mother due to her father's death and property disputes, whereas police and family confirmed she had been living alone in a rented apartment for 8-9 months while her brother stayed with their mother. Shivkumar also publicly speculated that her body indicated she was hanged by someone else, despite denying any ongoing dispute with her.
Neelu Raikwar and Shivkumar Raykar were married around 2012 and had two children. Friction escalated significantly over the past year as Shivkumar reportedly engaged in extramarital affairs, shared explicit photos, and subjected Neelu to physical abuse. Eight months prior to the incident, Neelu fled her home at night after being assaulted and separated from her children. She filed an unanswered police complaint at Sipri police station and publicly appealed for help at a Nishad Party rally. She subsequently moved into a rented flat alone. On October 21, she visited her in-laws' home to deliver Diwali clothes to her children. Upon returning to her flat that night, she ceased responding to phone calls. On October 22, her mother and brother requested police assistance to open the locked apartment, where forensic teams recovered her hanging body.
Unaddressed domestic violence complaints and systemic inaction on police reports heighten risk for isolated victims. Public appeals for help and prior physical expulsion late at night served as clear warning signs of extreme domestic distress and safety risks.
The primary early signals included repeated physical beatings, Neelu being thrown out of the house late at night by her husband and in-laws, unacted-upon complaints at the Sipri police station, and her public plea for safety during a political rally.
Key clues included Neelu's documented media statements detailing domestic abuse and child separation, explicit photos of infidelity shared with her, her recent visit to her in-laws' house on October 21 to see her children, and unanswered phone calls on the morning of October 22.
Strongest evidence items include forensic evidence collected from the rented flat, postmortem evaluation reports, prior police filing records at Sipri station, and recorded video statements from Neelu Raikwar and Rekha Raikwar.
Mother Rekha Raikwar reported that her son-in-law physically abused Neelu, sent explicit photos with other women to torment her, and threw her out of the house at 1 or 2 a.m. months earlier. Neelu Raikwar had previously stated on camera that she was beaten, her children were withheld, and her complaint at Sipri police station received no response. Shivkumar Raykar stated on camera that there was no domestic dispute, claiming she lived separately due to her father's passing, and suggested political opponents were exploiting her death.
Initial reporting focused on a suspicious death in a locked flat, which quickly expanded into a high-profile investigation following the release of the victim's prior media appeals and her mother's formal allegations of continuous domestic abuse against a local political figure.
It remains unresolved whether the death was a direct suicide induced by severe domestic torture or a homicide disguised as hanging, pending the final postmortem and police forensic report.