Chandigarh: Serial killer Monu gets life imprisonment and Rs 1 lakh fine in 15-year-old murder case

November 28, 2025

Chandigarh: The Chandigarh district court has sentenced serial killer Monu Kumar to life imprisonment for raping and murdering an MBA student 15 years ago. The court has also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on the accused. The victim’s parents said that such a criminal should have been hanged.

The family expresses displeasure in the court
In a closed room inside the court, Neha’s parents told the judge that the accused should have been given the death penalty, not life imprisonment.

The case dates back to 2010

The case dates back to 2010, when a 21-year-old MBA student went to Sector 38, Chandigarh for coaching and did not return. The family filed a missing person report at the Sector 39 police station. Shortly after, the student’s scooter was found near a taxi stand, covered in blood, and the condition of her body suggested that she had been raped and then murdered.

The family searched the surrounding area and found her body, covered in blood and naked, lying in the bushes a short distance from the taxi stand. The family picked her up in that condition and took her straight to PGI, where doctors declared her dead.

The police investigation revealed that the student had been struck on the head with a heavy object. After being strangled, she had been sexually assaulted and molested. Upon beginning the investigation, the police collected DNA samples from the murderer found on the student’s body.

The investigation then continued. Days, months, and years passed, but the killer remained untraced. 

The case remained unsolved for 12 years.

The police collected DNA samples during the initial investigation, but the culprit could not be identified. Ten years later, the police filed a case in court as an “unidentified” report.

Similar incident and reinvestigation in 2022

Twelve years later, on January 12, 2022, a 40-year-old woman, Manideep, was murdered in Chandigarh. The circumstances of this murder and the pattern of the crime were similar to the murder of the MBA student. Chandigarh SSP Kanwarpreet Kaur directed that the investigation of both the cases be combined.

DNA and interrogation of people revealed

The police sent DNA samples of about 100 people for testing. After an eight-month investigation, Monu Kumar’s DNA matched the sample found in the woman’s murder. Following this, a DNA match was also found in the case of a 14-year-old MBA student.

Identification and arrest of accused Monu Kumar

Monu Kumar, a taxi driver from Shahpura Colony, was from Bihar. Since he did not have a mobile phone, Aadhaar card or bank account, it was difficult to trace him. After waiting for six months, he returned to Chandigarh and was arrested by the police.

Disclosure of crimes to the police

Monu told the police that on July 30, 2010, the student was standing on the roadside to escape the rain. He attacked her from behind, hit her on the head with a stone, left her covered in blood, took her to the forest, raped her and killed her.

Additionally, Monu told the police that on September 12, 2008, he raped and murdered a 6-year-old girl in Chamba, Himachal Pradesh. Monu had earlier served 1.5 years in prison there, but was acquitted due to lack of evidence.

Monu’s criminal record

The police registered eight criminal cases against Monu, including rape, murder, theft and dacoity. After his arrest, the police produced him in court and took cognizance of all the cases.