New Delhi: The death of 24-year-old Delhi Police SWAT commando Kajal Chaudhary has devastated her family and raised serious questions over domestic violence and dowry-related abuse. Kajal succumbed to her injuries on January 27, five days after she was allegedly assaulted by her husband at their Mohan Garden residence in west Delhi.
Recounting the night of the incident, Kajal’s brother Nikhil said he was speaking to her on the phone on January 22 when an argument at her home suddenly turned violent. He alleged that he could hear his sister screaming before the call abruptly ended. Minutes later, he claimed, Kajal’s husband Ankur called him and confessed to the assault, telling him to come and take her body.
According to the family, Kajal had been facing harassment since the early days of her marriage over dowry demands. Nikhil alleged that Ankur and his family members repeatedly complained that the dowry was insufficient. He said that while the relationship initially appeared stable, the behaviour later turned abusive, ultimately leading to the fatal assault.
Doctors told the family that Kajal had suffered critical head injuries and was declared brain-dead, leaving no scope for treatment. At the time of the assault, she was four months pregnant. She is survived by her one-and-a-half-year-old son, born in 2024, who is now being cared for by her maternal family.
Police investigations revealed that Kajal was allegedly beaten multiple times, including being struck with a dumbbell, before being taken to a private hospital by Ankur. An attempt to murder case was initially registered at the Mohan Garden police station, but sections related to murder and dowry death were later added after Kajal’s death and the family’s complaint.
Ankur has been arrested and remanded to judicial custody at Tihar Jail. He has also been suspended from his job as a clerk with the Ministry of Defence. Kajal, who joined the Delhi Police in 2022, was serving with the elite SWAT unit of the Special Cell. Police said further investigation into the case is ongoing.
