Woman calls man home to end relationship as he was unemployed, both found dead

2 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jul 17, 2026 01:43 AM IST

“Prima facie, the circumstances suggest a suspected case of murder followed by suicide,” DCP (North) Raja Banthia said.

A 26-year-old woman employed with the National Informatics Centre and her alleged boyfriend were found dead inside a rented room that had been locked from inside in North Delhi’s Burari on Wednesday afternoon.

Police said it has been alleged that the woman, Shivangini, reportedly called Nikhil (26), earlier in the day to end their six-month relationship because he was unemployed.

“Prima facie, the circumstances suggest a suspected case of murder followed by suicide,” DCP (North) Raja Banthia said.

While Shivangini hails from Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh, Nikhil belongs to Pinana village in Haryana’s Sonipat district. Police said Nikhil had earlier worked with the Delhi Development Authority on a contractual basis but was currently unemployed and was reportedly staying at Saran in Punjab.

An officer said that Shivangini’s younger sister, Nishangini (21), a teacher at a school in Burari, came from work and found the room — located at Kamalpur — locked from inside. After repeated knocks went unanswered, she sought the help of the building owner and other residents to open the door, following which the two were found lying dead inside.

Police said they received information about the deaths around 4 pm. The police and forensic experts recovered a pistol along with two empty cartridge cases from the room. The exact cause of death, nature of injuries and sequence of events will be determined through forensic examination and the post-mortem report, they added.

During the preliminary probe, investigators said they learnt that Shivangini and Nikhil had been in a relationship for around six months. “Shivangini had allegedly called Nikhil earlier in the day to end the relationship, reportedly because he was unemployed,” an officer said, adding that this claim is being verified.

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Police said they are also examining a message that Nikhil allegedly shared in his family’s WhatsApp group along with his live location shortly before the incident. He also posted a three-second video of both of them sitting on the bed. Police said the contents of the message and other digital evidence are being analysed.

The bodies, meanwhile, have been sent for postmortem examination, they added.