The postmortem report of former tennis player Radhika Yadav has contradicted key claims made in the FIR registered against her father, Deepak Yadav, who is accused of killing her at their home in Gurugram’s Sushant Lok on Thursday.
According to a report by India Today, Dr Deepak Mathur, a member of the Gurgaon Government Hospital Board and surgeon, confirmed in a telephonic conversation that Radhika sustained four gunshot wounds, all located on her chest. He added that the bullets were removed from her body and sent for forensic examination.
This revelation is at odds with the FIR, which stated that Deepak had fired three bullets at his daughter from behind. The discrepancy has raised fresh questions about the sequence of events leading to the 25-year-old’s death and the accuracy of the accused’s confession.
Police had earlier said Deepak Yadav admitted to shooting his daughter after being taunted for living off her income. On Friday, a court remanded him in police custody for one day.
The FIR, filed on the complaint of Radhika's uncle Kuldeep Yadav, stated that the incident occurred around 10:30 am. Kuldeep, who lives on the ground floor of the family’s double-storey home in Sector 57, said he heard a loud noise and rushed upstairs, where he found Radhika lying in a pool of blood in the kitchen. A licensed .32 bore revolver, believed to be the murder weapon, was found in the drawing room.
Kuldeep and his son Piyush rushed Radhika to a private hospital in Sector 56, where doctors declared her dead on arrival.
The FIR also mentions that Radhika, her father Deepak, and her mother Manju lived on the first floor, while Kuldeep and his family stayed on the ground floor. Radhika's brother, Dheeraj, was not present at the time of the incident.
While initial police reports claimed that Radhika was shot around 2 pm, Kuldeep Yadav’s version places the timing much earlier. The police also said earlier that Deepak had fired at least five rounds, three of which struck Radhika from behind, a claim now challenged by the postmortem.
Radhika's mother was reportedly in the house at the time. Police are now probing what she was doing when the incident occurred. Earlier statements had said she was on the ground floor and rushed upstairs after hearing the gunshots, which she mistook for a pressure cooker blast.
Police said the motive appeared to be a long-standing dispute between the father and daughter over the tennis academy Radhika operated. “Radhika used to run a tennis academy, and her father was not happy with it,” said Gurugram Police spokesperson Sandeep Singh to news agency PTI.
Radhika, who had won several trophies as a professional tennis player, was described by her uncle as a talented and driven young woman. “I am shocked that my brother could do this,” he said.
Sources have also indicated that Radhika's growing interest in becoming a social media influencer may have contributed to tensions with her father. Following her death, a music video titled ‘KARWAAN’, featuring the young tennis player, has surfaced online, prompting speculation about its possible link to the motive behind the murder.
According to the AITA website, Radhika Yadav played in qualifying rounds of tournaments in Indore and Kuala Lumpur earlier this year. She held an ITF ranking of 1999, with a career-best AITA Under-18 ranking of 75 and women's singles ranking of 35.
“She was very promising in her junior days and wanted to start an academy to train future players,” AITA official Anil Dhupar told PTI.
Haryana Tennis Association president Suman Kapur said Radhika was part of the Haryana team during the 2023 National Games but later did not make the state squad. “Her academy was not registered with HTA, and we have little information about her coaching activities,” Kapur added.
(With inputs from PTI)