Cop shoots self after allegedly killing wife

A Delhi Police constable on the run since allegedly shooting his wife dead on her birthday in east Delhi, killed himself too on Tuesday evening, police said. He shot himself with his service pistol, said an officer. The body of Manish Bhati was found lying behind a five-star hotel in Mayur Vihar.

A police officer said a team got information at 6 pm about a body lying behind a hotel.

“The team immediately rushed to the spot and found Bhati’s body. Initial investigation suggested that he shot himself. Further investigation into the matter is underway,” the officer added.

Bhati, a 2022-batch Delhi Police constable posted with the Anti Auto Theft Squad (AATS), had been on the run since Monday after allegedly shooting his 30-year-old wife, Priyanka, in the chest during an argument. Earlier in the day, the police had formed five teams and raided places across Delhi-NCR and parts of Haryana to trace him.

Searches were conducted in Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, Faridabad and several locations in Haryana.

According to the investigators, the couple had left their New Vinod Nagar residence together on a two-wheeler in the early hours of Monday after an argument. CCTV footage showed the couple stopping on a road near Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital, where another argument broke out between them, and Bhati pulled out his service pistol and shot his wife.

After the shooting, Bhati drove away, while Priyanka was rushed to Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital by a passerby, where she was declared dead on arrival.

Priyanka’s family has alleged that she was being harassed for dowry harassment since her marriage in 2023. They said she had approached the Women’s Cell with a complaint against her husband and his family.

The allegations are being verified by the police.

Bhati had joined the AATS last year and was considered a capable officer by his colleagues, police said.