'Radhika Yadav had no academy, trained aspirants by booking different tennis courts': Police on Gurugram murder case

Her father, Deepak, had supported Radhika in her tennis career since her childhood. Deepak had asked his daughter several times to stop holding the training sessions but she refused.

Gurugram: Former state-level tennis player Radhika Yadav did not have her own academy and instead used to train aspirants by booking tennis courts at different places, which her father objected to, Gurugram Police said on Saturday.

The 25-year-old was allegedly shot dead at point-blank range by her father Deepak Yadav, 49, at the family's double-storey home at Sushant Lok area in Sector 57, Gurugram, on Thursday.

Earlier, the police had maintained that Radhika ran a tennis academy, which had become a bone of contention between the two because Deepak was often taunted for living off his daughter's income.

The accused, who was financially well off with good rental income from various properties and hence was not dependent on his daughter's earnings, was depressed for the last couple of weeks due to the taunts, they said.

"Radhika did not have her own academy. She used to train new aspirants by booking tennis courts at different places. Deepak had asked her several times to stop the training sessions, but she refused. That was the main tussle between the father and daughter," an investigating officer said on Saturday.

Deepak, who police said has confessed to shooting his daughter dead, was on Friday produced before a court, which remanded him to one-day police custody.

During the remand, police recovered five bullets and one live cartridge from his Sector 57 residence. Deepak was also taken to a village in Pataudi as part of the investigation. The accused will be produced in court again on Saturday, the investigating officer said.

There had been claims that Deepak was not happy with Radhika's social media presence and her desire to become an influencer. Many people had claimed that a music video she featured in alongside an independent artist had caused her murder.

"The video was uploaded in 2023, it has no connection with the murder. The accused has repeatedly said that he did not want his daughter to earn through training," said inspector Vinod Kumar of Sector 56 police station.

According to a close relative, Deepak had supported Radhika in her tennis career since her childhood. Deepak had asked his daughter several times to stop holding the training sessions but she refused, he said.

Radhika had received four bullets, three in the back and one in the shoulder, according to the post-mortem report. Her last rites were conducted at the family's village in Wazirabad on Friday.