What first appeared to be a tragic but routine cooking gas cylinder explosion in a North Delhi neighbourhood last year has been unravelled by the Delhi Police as a meticulously planned murder. The victim was a 32-year-old UPSC aspirant, and the alleged perpetrators were his former live-in partner and her ex-boyfriend, driven by fear over private videos stored on a hard disk.
From Cylinder Blast to Murder Probe: The Unravelling of a Crime Scene
In the early hours of October 6, 2025, fire services rushed to a fourth-floor flat in E-60, Gandhi Vihar, to douse a blaze. Inside, they found a charred body amidst a pile of books and a destroyed LPG cylinder. The scene pointed to a tragic accident. Police registered a case under sections for negligent conduct causing death.
The body was identified as Ram Kesh Meena, a civil services exam aspirant from Dausa, Rajasthan, who had been preparing for over a decade. His father, however, was sceptical. He told police his son was responsible and intelligent, making carelessness with a gas leak seem highly unlikely. This doubt triggered a deeper investigation.
CCTV footage from the building proved crucial. It showed two masked individuals entering the building on the night of the incident. Later, at 2:57 am, a woman was seen leaving with two others, shortly before the fire started. The woman was identified as 21-year-old Amrita Chauhan, who had been in a live-in relationship with Ram Kesh. The case was no longer about negligence.
The Love Triangle, a Forensic Student, and a Hard Disk of Secrets
Police arrested Amrita, a BSc Forensic Science graduate from Moradabad, and her former boyfriend, Sumit Kashyap (27). A third accomplice, Sandeep Kumar (29), was also held. Both Sumit and Sandeep worked as LPG cylinder distributors.
The investigation, led by Inspector Pankaj Tomar under DCP (North) Raja Banthia, pieced together a complex motive. Amrita had moved in with Ram Kesh in July 2024 after meeting him in Noida. During their relationship, Ram Kesh had a habit of recording their private moments. When Amrita decided to return to her family in late September 2025, she asked him to delete all such content. He agreed to delete files from his phone but was protective of an external hard disk, assuring her it contained only study material.
Back in Moradabad, Amrita, whose family was seeking a groom for her, grew anxious. Fearful that the videos could ruin her marriage prospects, she confided in her ex-boyfriend, Sumit. Enraged, Sumit decided to "teach Ram Kesh a lesson."
The Gruesome Plot and the Forensic Cover-Up
On October 5, 2025, the plan was executed. Amrita had left the door to Ram Kesh's flat open. Sumit and Sandeep, faces covered, entered and attacked Ram Kesh, demanding the hard disk. When he refused, Sumit strangled him with a phone charger cable.
Then, Amrita's forensic knowledge came into play. To stage the murder as an accident, the trio doused the body in inflammable substances like oil and ghee. Sumit placed the kitchen's LPG cylinder near Ram Kesh's head, opened the regulator, and ignited the fire. They locked the door from outside using a trick with the mesh door, creating the illusion it was locked from within, and fled with the hard disk, two laptops, and other items. The subsequent cylinder explosion charred the body badly.
Call records and location data placed Amrita near the crime scene, confirming police suspicions. Raids in Moradabad led to her arrest on October 18, where she confessed. Sumit was apprehended on October 21, and Sandeep on October 23. The hard disk and other stolen items were recovered.
The murder sent shockwaves through Gandhi Vihar, a hub for competitive exam aspirants, where the couple was known as happy and trouble-free. The case highlights a chilling premeditation, where academic knowledge of forensics was allegedly weaponised to conceal a brutal crime.
