DGP Admits Lapses in Manchanda Body Handling

GURUGRAM: Haryana Director General of Police Ajay Singhal on Monday acknowledged "certain lapses" in the way city police handled and cremated an unidentified body that was later established to be that of Delhi real estate professional Yuvraj Singh Manchanda.

The body was recovered from a water-filled pit in Sector 70 on 10 September and cremated as unidentified on 14 September. Details went on ZIPNET, the shared northern police database for missing persons and unidentified bodies, only on 16 September. Singhal spoke during the inauguration of the new Sector 17/18 police station building.

"There is a proper SOP that if you find an unidentified body, it cannot be kept for more than three days. We, thus, followed the SOP and cremated it. Yes, there were certain lapses and the court has taken cognisance of them. We will look into those and issue appropriate directions or make amendments, if required," Singhal said. He did not list the lapses in detail.

Manchanda, 31, left his Delhi home on 6 September saying he had a meeting in Gurugram. Delhi Police later alleged he was killed the same night by former colleague Anya Vats and her partner Sanyam Sachdeva, who were arrested in Uttarakhand on 16 September. Police accounts say the body was kept in a vehicle for about two days before being dumped near Badshapur on 8 September.

ZIPNET timing, belongings and autopsy questions

Gurugram police told a Delhi court that a team inspected the recovery spot, recorded video and prepared a rough site plan, then kept the body in the mortuary for 72 hours. Control room information came at 4.05 pm on 10 September and a team left at 4.20 pm, yet the ZIPNET entry for the unidentified body came after cremation. Delhi Police had already uploaded Manchanda's missing-person details with photographs on 12 September.

Court proceedings recorded that a watch and kada were later recovered in burnt condition from the cremation site, prompting questions on why belongings were disposed of with the remains. The compliance report also stated the autopsy was not videographed. The court asked why the executive magistrate or SDM was not informed for inquest proceedings and why viscera samples were not preserved.

A further clash of findings remains on record: Gurugram autopsy paperwork attributed death to asphyxia due to ante-mortem drowning, while Delhi Police allege bullet injuries and a dump in a drain. A Gurugram health officer has said no bullet wound or shell was found. An ASI of Badshapur police station was suspended after an internal review of alleged negligence.

Singhal's admission keeps the focus on whether the 72-hour clock was used for identification safeguards, including prompt ZIPNET entry, hue-and-cry notice and preservation of articles, before cremation closed those options. Haryana Police public information is at https://haryanapolice.gov.in/.