Saturday morning began like any other in northwest Delhi’s Shalimar Bagh until gunfire shattered the calm and left a well-known local face dead on the road.

Rachna Yadav, 44, president of her area’s resident welfare association, was shot at close range while returning home after visiting a neighbour. She died instantly, police said, in what investigators believe was a carefully planned killing.

Around 10.59 am, a PCR call alerted Shalimar Bagh police to the shooting. Officers reached the spot to find Rachna lying motionless in a pool of blood. An empty cartridge nearby hinted at the precision of the attack.

According to the investigation, two men intercepted her on the road. One of them allegedly stopped her and asked her name. When she identified herself, the man pulled out a firearm and shot her in the head before escaping with his accomplice.

“She was shot in the head and died on the spot. The crime team and FSL teams were called, and the scene of crime was thoroughly examined,” Additional Commissioner of Police (Northwest) Bhisham Singh said.

CCTV Footage Goes Viral

CCTV footage later surfaced, capturing the shooter and showing an accomplice waiting nearby on a sports bike with a Delhi registration number, allowing for a swift escape.

Rachna, originally from Bhalswa village, was not just a neighbourhood leader she was also the main witness in her husband’s murder case, a detail that now sits at the centre of the police probe.

Her husband, Vijendra Yadav, was gunned down in 2023 in Jahangirpuri, a killing linked to long-standing rivalries. The case is still under trial.

“In the 2023 case, Vijendra Yadav was allegedly murdered due to previous enmity. Bharat Yadav and five others were named as accused. While five of the accused were arrested and are facing trial, the main accused, Bharat Yadav, is still absconding and has been declared a proclaimed offender,” a senior police officer said.

Investigators suspect Rachna’s killing was meant to break the prosecution’s case by silencing a crucial witness. Police are now re-examining every angle of the 2023 murder to trace possible links.

Murder Linked to 2023 Killing: Police

“Prima facie, it appears that the present case is linked to the earlier murder. We are re-examining all aspects of the 2023 case and the role of the proclaimed offender (Bharat),” Bhisham Singh said.

The family, however, says the motive is painfully clear.

Kanika Yadav, Rachna’s elder daughter, accused Bharat Yadav of masterminding the murder despite being on the run.

“Some of the accused in my father’s murder case are lodged in Tihar Jail. Despite that, they are planning such crimes. Bharat Yadav planned and executed my mother’s murder,” she alleged. Kanika said her mother knew the risks but refused to withdraw from the case.

“They were afraid that they would be convicted on the basis of her statement. That is why my mother was killed. My father was murdered in 2023, and the case is still pending before the court,” she said. Rachna is survived by two daughters. Security has been tightened in the area as multiple police teams hunt for the shooters and those believed to be behind the crime.