Gurugram SHO suspended over lapses in Adani Realty manager murder probe

What happened

Manchanda went missing on 6 September 2026 after travelling from Delhi to Gurugram, according to his sister's application to the Supreme Court. Police recovered a decomposed body from a drain in the Badshahpur area on 10 September. Reports differ on the exact spot: The Statesman describes a drain near Badshahpur, while ThePrint describes a flooded area.

The body was cremated as unidentified on 14 September. The family was contacted only on 16 September, two days after the cremation, and was asked to identify the body from photographs and belongings. A missing-person FIR had been registered at Lajpat Nagar police station on 11 September.

Police action

Gurugram Police said Bagri was suspended for lapses in the investigation. A police spokesperson confirmed the suspension to ThePrint on Friday, 9 October, and said it took effect on Thursday. UNI reported the suspension in a dispatch dated 8 October 2026.

The action follows the earlier suspension of ASI Sahoon Khan, the investigating officer, over alleged negligence in identifying the body and following legal procedure. The DCP (South), Ayush Yadav, said further action against at least five officials was being considered. Police also said the post-mortem doctor's role would be examined and that a recommendation for appropriate action against the doctor would be forwarded. No date for that step was given.

Database and procedure issues

The main allegation is that the recovered body's details were not put on an inter-state database in time. Reports name the Zonal Integrated Police Network (ZIPNET), which police agencies use to circulate information about missing persons and unidentified bodies. The Supreme Court order, as reported by ThePrint, instead refers to the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS). The reports do not settle which systems were involved.

Police said standard procedure requires waiting 72 hours before cremating an unidentified body, and that this window was observed. A Delhi court that ordered a probe into Gurugram officials and a doctor noted that the body was kept in a mortuary for 72 hours, and that failing to upload its details in that period effectively defeated the identification process.

Disputed points

The reports do not agree on several facts, and none of them has been resolved by a court.

• Cause of death. The post-mortem at Gurugram Civil Hospital found no external injuries and attributed the death to asphyxia from drowning, according to ThePrint. Later reporting said the victim had been shot, and Delhi Police said they recovered the weapon. One report says investigators also stated there were no bullet injuries. The cause of death should be treated as disputed.
• Motive. ThePrint reports a debt of Rs 1 crore. Other reporting of the arrested couple's accounts gives different sums. The police accounts have not been tested in court.
• Name of the accused. Some reports describe Sanyam Sachdeva as the woman's partner, while one describes him as her husband.

Supreme Court petition

Harsimran Manchanda, the victim's sister, filed the petition through senior advocate Amit Prasad. It asks the court to hold the police to account for the alleged procedural failures and to set a uniform nationwide standard operating procedure for missing persons and unidentified bodies. The Supreme Court asked the Delhi Police Commissioner and the Gurugram Police to file affidavits on why the body was cremated before identification and why recovery details were not entered in the database.

The court's concerns sit within a wider direction on missing persons. Reports of the same bench's orders say it asked police to register FIRs promptly when a person is reported missing, without a preliminary inquiry.

Reforms reported so far

Under a revised system described in reports, information about unidentified bodies, including photographs and physical descriptions, must be shared immediately with Delhi Police and with control rooms in Faridabad, Jhajjar, Nuh, Rewari and Palwal, so that families can check missing-person records. A senior Crime Branch officer has been assigned to supervise the process and report to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime).

Haryana's Director General of Police has acknowledged lapses in handling the body and said police standard operating procedures may be amended. That acknowledgement is reported in a single source reviewed for this article, so its full scope is not yet clear.

What it means for buyers, investors and the market

The reported action is directed at police officials. No report found by the time of writing says Adani Realty, its projects, prices or approvals have been affected. Reports reviewed do not describe any effect on home buyers or the local property market in Gurugram, and this article does not estimate one.

What happens next

Several steps are pending. Further disciplinary action against at least five officials has been announced but not yet reported as completed. The recommendation on the post-mortem doctor has no reported date. The Delhi court's order for a probe into Gurugram officials and a doctor has no reported timeline. Whether the Supreme Court will set a uniform nationwide procedure, as the petition asks, has not been decided.