On the morning of July 10, 2025, around 10:30am, the silence of the Yadav household in Sushant Lok Gurugram, India was broken by gunfire. 25 year old Radhika Yadav was in the kitchen preparing food while her mother Manju cooked downstairs. When Manju heard the loud cracks, she thought a pressure cooker had burst. Kuldeep Yadav, Radhika’s uncle who lived on the ground floor, ran upstairs to find his niece lying in a pool of blood. His son Piyush helped carry her to Asia Maringo Hospital, but doctors declared her dead on arrival. Kuldeep filed the formal complaint at the Sector 56 police station and police were soon called to the home.

Welcome to Love and Murder, heartbreak to homicide. We’re Kai’s AI co hosts Hugh here to bring you a, uh, Foreign Affairs Friday case. On Fridays, Kai takes us beyond the US to look at crimes from around the world. Cases of love, betrayal and murder that cross borders. Before we get into today’s case, a quick reminder that this podcast is listener funded. That’s why Kai started the Patreon, so this show can stay independent and focused on being a, uh, voice for the victims. Patreon.com loveandmurder when you join, you’re helping keep these stories alive and and you also get a ton of extras, bonus episodes, ad free listening, case files, behind the scenes and full exclusive series like Serial Killer Corner and Deadly Duos. You can even join for free and still get some perks. But if you want the full experience, sign up for a bonus tier at $3 per month and above at patreon.com loveandmurder now let’s get into today’s Foreign Affairs Friday case. Side note, this case is still ongoing, so everything said here is alleged.

Radhika was a promising athlete, a state level tennis player who ranked 75 in girls U, 18, 35 in women’s singles and 53 in women’s doubles with the All India Tennis Association. She once held an ITF ranking of 1999 and um, played qualifying tournaments in Indore and Kuala Lumpur. Earlier that year, a graduate of Scottish High International School, she’d gotten a shoulder injury which sidelined her career. After that, Radhika shifted her focus to coaching and opened her own academy in Gurugram where she trained young players and taught private lessons, including to high profile clients. Friends described her as full of life, focused on tennis and deeply devoted to her father. She was usually heard, uh, telling people that she just wanted to make him proud of her.

My father has invested so much money into my tennis. I won’t let it go to waste.

She was known to make celebratory reels with her father after winning trophies. Claims that she wanted to become a social media influencer were dismissed by her closest friend.

That’s not what she was doing. Everyone shoots reels these days. She liked makeup, so what’s wrong with what she was doing?

She was also preparing to go to college in Australia and insisted on being financially independent. Huh? Her father, Deepak Yadav, was a wealthy builder. In his late 40s or early 50s. He owned multiple properties and earned about $16,980 per month in rent. He also owned a farmhouse and carried a licensed.32 bore revolver. Even though he was successful and financially secure, relatives said that Deepak struggled with insecurity and pride. He had spent an estimated $283,000 on Radhika’s tennis career and even once threatened to shoot a coach who’d harassed her.

Warning him, if you say anything to my daughter, I will shoot you.

His wife, however, described him as obsessive and short tempered. She said that in the two weeks leading up to the murder, he had been depressed and increasingly angry about Radhika’s tennis academy. Radhika lived with her parents and younger brother, who was home at the time of the murder, on the first floor of the house. Deepak’s older son Dhiraj lived separately while Kuldeep and his family lived downstairs. The problems inside the home had been steadily building. Deepak was said to resent Radhika’s financial independence and the academy she ran. He claimed that villagers mocked him, saying the family was living off her earnings. Police said he told her several times to close the academy, but she refused. Arguments followed and Manju told investigators her husband had been angry for three days and threatened to kill Radhika. Other issues were also looked at. Some pointed to a reel Radhika had posted that her father may have disapproved of. Others said the tension came from her clothing or the fact that she sometimes stayed out after classes. Her friend mentioned she had been scolded at home for things like wearing short tennis clothes and being out until 8pm they said, quote, you cannot play tennis in a suit and said that this pointed to evidence of her father trying to curb her independence. The day before she died, Radhika sent a, quote, black snap on Snapchat, something she had never done before. The friend later said, if I saw.

The snap, I would have asked her about it. Maybe we would have spoken.

Now Kai is not well versed. In Snapchat because she’s never used it before and had to look up what a black chat was. The answers confused her even more. But she thinks that Radhika might have posted a blank picture like a black square. If she’s wrong, please let her know in the comments so she can more understand what a black chat is.

That morning, Deepak took his revolver from the bedroom, walked into the kitchen where his daughter was innocently cooking and shot her. Some reports said he fired three bullets, others said five. But were going to report five shots because Kai found another account which said that four shots hit Radhika in the back, killing her instantly. Police found the gun in the living room. Deepak was arrested at the scene and police ruled out any honor killing angle. Instead, they focused on the dispute inside the family.

But the supposed family dispute was only due to the father feeling humiliated. So based on that, wouldn’t that be considered what they would call an honor killing?

Assistant Commissioner of Police Yashwant Yadav confirmed the motive was tied to the academy and the humiliation.

He asked her repeatedly to shut the tennis academy, but she refused. Arguments had taken place earlier as well. He finally shot her dead over the same dispute.

Deepak’s confession stayed consistent with the idea that his pride was wounded by taunts about living off his daughter’s money. But one acquaintance doubted this explanation, saying.

When there is so much money, who in the village will say that he is living off his daughter’s money? Deepak is a very sophisticated man. He loves his daughter very much. There may be a personal reason behind the murder. Not tennis or the tennis academy.

Manju at first refused to give police a statement saying she was sick and had not seen anything. But later she confirmed that he had threatened Radhika. Investigators also looked at other details, like who deleted Radhika’s social media accounts and whether anyone else in the family had a role. They did not rule out objections to her friendships or relationships, but said the main motive was the academy and the humiliation Deepak felt. On July 11, Deepak was remanded to one day of police custody. Then 14 days on July 12, so investigators could trace the ammunition for his revolver. They searched his land in Kassam village near Rawari to recover it. As of now, the case has not gone to trial. Deepak Yadav’s arrest, confession and the evidence found at uh, the scene stand. But no details are available yet on how prosecutors will present the case in court or how the defence will respond. The murder of Radhika Yadav, a young athlete and Coach with plans for the future shows how pressures and resentments inside families can end violently. Her, uh, life ended in the same house where she had built her dreams, leaving behind grief, unanswered questions, and a family struggling to understand why.

What did you think of this case? Can you believe the audacity of this father? Now, Kai found some comments on this case while doing her research and wanted us to read some to you. Let’s see if you agree with some of the comments.

The first commenter said, uh, the whole thing is so sad. The father had raised a good daughter who became successful. I thought that it was what all parents wanted for their children to be better than they were. This father took this to a dark place because he was jealous and let his friends get into his head. His friends were jealous because his daughter did very well. The father snubbed out his daughter’s life just because he couldn’t handle her success. Now that is tragedy. He has to live with this for the rest of his life. Someone answered that comment by saying, in Indian culture, shame is a powerful social emotion closely linked to honor and social standing. It’s a significant factor in shaping behavior and is often tied to family and community reputation. This can lead to pressure to conform to social norms and expectations, even if they conflict with individual desires. Individuals are expected to uphold the honor of their families and communities, and actions that bring shame can have serious repercussions. Shame is often imposed on women for perceived transgressions of social norms, particularly those related to family honor and behavior. Actions that might be acceptable in private can be shameful in public due to the fear of social judgment. Evidently her father felt shame since she was the breadwinner. I think they call it honor killing. I call it murder. I don’t understand the culture of killing your own child. That’s just insane in my opinion. The next comment said, so the father’s ego was wounded. Daddy dearest, now you’ll have no life. Your daughter created a life with dedication, athleticism and hard work. Most dads would be proud. So sorry for the daughter, who, by the way, was beautiful. Certainly must take after mom.

And that’s all the comments Kai wanted to share. And that’s it for this episode of Love and Murder. What did you think of this case? Do you share the same sentiments of these commenters? Let us know in the comments below or join the conversation over on Patreon. Remember, this podcast is listener funded. That means no outside control, no watered down cases, just the truth with the victim in mind. When you join us at patreon.com loveandmurder you’re not only helping keep this show going, you’re also becoming part of our mission. And for $3 per month and above, you’ll get access to bonus cases, exclusive series ad, free episodes and more. Thanks for listening, thanks for your support, and we’ll see you in the next episod.