‘He has the right over his daughter’: Father’s kin on Radhika Yadav’s murder

After performing the last rites of Radhika Yadav, the 25-year-old tennis player allegedly shot dead by her father, her relatives and neighbours returned home in Gurugram’s Sushant Lok 2 area on Friday evening, angry at the media.

Seated in his bungalow’s premises, Radhika’s 74-year-old grand-uncle Raghubir Yadav puffed on his hookah and snapped, “Yeh log [media] bas uske baap ko criminal saabit kar rahe hain. Haan uske baap ne maara hai, kyunki uske baap ka haqq hai beti pe. (The media is just trying to prove that her father is a criminal. Yes, he killed her, because he has the right over his daughter.)”

On Thursday, at 10:30 am, Radhika was preparing breakfast when her father, Deepak Yadav (54), allegedly pulled out his licensed revolver and fired five shots at her – three of them struck her from behind. 

Her father quickly confessed to the crime to the police. 

The police are investigating all angles of the crime. All they know is that Deepak was unhappy with Radhika running her tennis academy and wanted her to shut it. Media reports speculated that Deepak told the police that he was troubled by the locals taunting him that he was living off his daughter’s income.

Shrugging off the claims of Deepak’s financial insecurity, her close relatives want people to understand the incident from her father’s perspective, too.

‘Do you think we are short on money?’ 

Deepak’s cousin Pawan pointed at his collection of cars – MG Gloster, Volkswagen Polo S90, and a BMW cycle – that were parked in the lawn of his lavish bungalow.  

“Do you think our family is short on money in any way?” asked Pawan. 

 “Like me, Deepak also deals in real estate. He owns property worth over Rs 100 crore, from which he was getting monthly rental income in lakhs. He had sent her [Radhika] to one of the most expensive schools in our area – Scottish High International School, and had spent lakhs on her to make her an international tennis player. Do you think he would be dependent on her income?”

In the 2000s, when DLF Limited and state authorities acquired most of the land in Gurugram’s Wazirabad village, Deepak and his extended family were among the many who migrated to Sushant Lok 2 – an affluent residential colony along Gurugram’s much-touted growth corridor, Golf Course Extension Road, advertised as an ideal destination for high-end living.

“I spend Rs 50 lakh a year on my son to make him an international-level shooter. But tomorrow, he can not go and choose to marry a random woman, or do what he wants. If he does, I have a right to teach him a lesson. And if thinking this way makes people want to label us as villagers, so be it,” added Pawan. 

Wazirabad was once known as one of the richest villages in Haryana, dominated by the Yadav community. However, it had a poor gender ratio of 87.2, significantly lower than the state average of 91.0.

Men from the Yadav community, who had migrated to this residential complex, live on rent and spend their day playing cards and smoking hookahs. Neighbours from other communities point out that the women in their families are rarely seen outside. 

A neighbor, who works as a primary school teacher, told Newslaundry, “I have been living in this area for four years, but I saw Radhika’s mother for the first time when I visited their house for her last rites.”

Another neighbour pointed out the same. “Even I have never seen any women from this family out ever. And even if they are spotted, which is rare, they remain veiled in ghoonghats,” she said.

The primary school teacher said that Radhika’s mother told her that Deepak shot her because of disagreements between them. 

“I also have a 21-year-old son, and there are several times when he does not listen to me, but that does not mean I will kill him. How can you do this? Plus, we had no idea that our neighbours were keeping revolvers at their home,” she said.

However, Pawan responds to this saying, “How can we be accused of not possessing modern values? It was Radhika’s father who wanted her to be a tennis player. My other niece plays Taekwondo. We buy our children the most expensive tickets – recliner chairs to watch movies. Deepak had gifted Radhika a Thar, costing over Rs 15 lakh. We give freedom to our children, let them work, but that does not mean they have the right to misuse the freedom. So, the police should investigate the case from our point of view too.”

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