Prayagraj, UP: Senior Officer Murdered Inside His Home Inside Air Force Station

Two men entered a high-security Air Force Station in Bamrauli at 3am on March 29, and shot dead an Air Force Commander inside his home. His wife has alleged that the killing was not a “robbery gone wrong” as the police have said, but a well-planned attack for which the killers had done a recce two weeks before. 

Vatsala Misra, wife of SN Misra Commander Works Engineering (AF), has also said that her husband’s death on March 29 would have been prevented if the AF had taken action on the couple’s complaint of a security breach on March 14 and 15, 2025. 

“It is my firm belief that had the Air Force acted decisively after the March 14 incident, the fatal attack of March 29 may well have been prevented. This inaction represents not just an institutional lapse, but a missed opportunity to protect the life of a serving officer who had raised clear warnings,” said Misra in a press note released to the media on June 30, 2025. 

According to the FIR registered on March 29, the two accused — Saurabh Passi and Sameer Khushwaha— entered the Bamrauli Air Force Station in the dead of the night. They scaled a 10-foot boundary wall and were inside the complex for 45 minutes. The two tried to cut open the door of the Misra residence, the sound of which woke up SN Misra who then went to check on it. As soon the accused saw Misra through the broken door they shot him. Misra was immediately taken to the nearby hospital but was dead on arrival. 

The crime has shocked the state, which has been touting a reduced crime rate credited to its “Operation Conviction” under which UP has seen over 97,000 convictions in one year.

Misra, 46-years-old, pointed out that she and her husband had raised an alarm on intrusions inside the high-security complex twice. 

On April 3, 2025, the couple had given details of “two grave intrusions at our high-security residence inside the Air Force compound at Prayagraj—first on 14 March 2025, and then the fatal breach on 29 March 2025. Despite our repeated and urgent pleas following the first incident—including requests for an FIR and enhanced security—the matter was dismissed as “internal” and no meaningful action was taken,” she added. 

Though the Air Force registered an FIR for the intrusions in June, Misra contends “it may be an afterthought to cover up their initial inaction,” while acknowledging that the FIR “marks a necessary first step toward accountability.”

Speaking to Outlook, her brother-in-law Arvind Misra said the family is not convinced that the murder was the result of a botched robbery as the police have noted in its FIR dated March 29. 

Misra points out that not only was the residence in a high-security complex, but that the complex was protected by a 10-foot wall. “Why would anybody climb and take a risk of going to the Air Force campus for theft, knowing that there is at every 200 metres written instructions on the wall that any unidentified intruder will be shot at? So, why would anybody take interest for theft to go inside an AF station when there will be thousands of houses outside that they could prey on for theft? So, if he (the killer) climbed that wall, he made that effort, it wasn't for theft,” Misra said. 

The family also met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath after the incident. “He was very kind to give us plenty of time. And he himself said that this cannot be a case of theft,” Misra told Outlook, adding that they believe the police is framing the incident as a robbery-gone-bad due to “convenience.” 

At the CM’s insistence, a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed to investigate the murder on April 6. However, according to the family, the SIT has not shared with them even the depositions of the duty officers of that day. 

In her press note, Misra said that the SIT needs to urgently give attention to the incident’s Forensic reports (ballistics, fingerprints, biological), statements of duty officers, crime scene reconstruction involving the accused, CDR and digital forensics, including encrypted messaging, Investigation into wider conspiracy involving the accused’s parents, co-accused Samir and others, and clear timelines and transparent reporting on all investigative steps. 

The family, however, says CCTV footage shows that the men had sophisticated weapons— “they had a silencer on the gun,” Arvind Misra pointed out while speaking to Outlook.