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New Delhi: In their bid to cover all angles to get to the bottom of the alleged murder of 25-year-old Radhika Yadav, police officials have turned their focus on her phone. According to reports, the police are expecting to looking at her Instagram account and other deleted data from her phone to understand what prompted her father, Deepak Yadav, to allegedly murder her.

Gurugram Police has sent her phone to the Haryana government’s Information Technology department to retrieve the information from the locked device as the family did not know phone the password. Sources said Radhika deleted her social media accounts a few days before the shooting. Hence, the contents of her phone, including messages and media could prove to be a significant link to probe the reasons behind her murder.

Notably, Himaanshika Singh Rajput, claiming to be Radhika’s close friend for over ten years, has revealed another Instagram account linked to her, while levelling allegations of social pressure, misogyny and pre-mediated murder on her father. The police are now looking into the account and will presumably also record a statement of her friend, said a report in NDTV.

Multiple reasons have been cited for the tennis player’s murder. Some sources say that there was a disagreement between the father and daughter over the operation of her tennis academy and that her father wanted Radhika to focus on her professional career.

While others say her father killed her due to taunts from his family about “living off her income”. Reports also suggest that Radhika’s appearance in a music video in 2024 and posting more frequently on Instagram account led her extended family to criticize her “influencer-like” behaviour. Thorough investigation of all the evidence, including the digital trace, is expected to shed more light on what caused the heinous crime.

(Curated by Lakshya Jha)