Parents shamed her for wearing shorts, talking to boys: Radhika Yadav's friend
Three days after the chilling murder of Radhika Yadav, one of her friends shared an emotional video on social media where she revealed that the 25-year-old tennis player was shamed by her parents for wearing shorts and talking to boys.
Himaanshika Singh Rajput, who is also a tennis player herself, accused Deepak of "controlling" every aspect of her life.
"My best friend Radhika was murdered by her own father. He shot her five times. Four bullets hit her. He'd made her life miserable for years with his controlling, constant criticism.
"In the end, he listened to so-called friends who were jealous of her success," Himaanshika wrote on social media, accompanied by a video.
"She worked so hard in her tennis career and even built her own academy. She was doing so well for herself. But they couldn't stand to see her independent. They shamed her for wearing shorts, for talking to boys, for living life on her own terms. She was rushed to the hospital, but she didn't make it," Himaanshika claimed.
Radhika was shot dead five times at the family's double-storey home in the upscale Sushant Lok area of Gurugram on Thursday.
Four bullets struck her, three in the back and one in the shoulder. She was rushed to a nearby hospital, but died of her injuries. Her last rites were performed at the family's native village in Wazirabad on Friday.
Father Deepak Yadav, 49, later confessed to killing his daughter and was arrested.
"We started playing together in 2012 or 2013. We travelled together, played matches together. I never saw her talk to anyone outside her family. She was very reserved, mostly due to restrictions at home. She had to account for every move. Even on video calls, she had to show her parents who she was speaking to," Himaanshika said.
According to officials, the father confessed that he shot Radhika as he was often taunted for living off her income. According to police, the tennis academy Radhika ran was the bone of contention between the father and the daughter.
"Her father was not happy with it," Gurugram police spokesperson Sandeep Singh said, adding that Deepak has disclosed that he was opposed to her daughter running the tennis academy, over which there had been altercations between the two.
The father felt that he was financially well off and also earned from rental income, so there was no need for his daughter to run an academy, the police claimed.
Born on March 23, 2000, Radhika was an active player on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) circuit. The 25-year-old had 10 points on the international stage and was ranked 113.
Over the years, she has competed in various domestic and international tennis events. She made a name for herself in age-group tennis.
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