The Chandigarh Police has filed a chargesheet in the district court against Panjab University professor Bharat Bhushan Goyal in connection with the alleged murder of his wife, Seema Goyal.
The Sector-11 police station submitted the chargesheet on Monday, and court proceedings in the case are scheduled to begin on March 6.
Seema Goyal, wife of Professor Goyal of the University Business School (UBS), was found dead at their residence on the Panjab University campus on the night of Diwali in November 2021. Her hands and feet were tied, and cloth had been stuffed into her mouth. Preliminary investigation indicated she had been strangled to death.
It was on December 8 last year that four years after the murder of his wife, the Chandigarh Police had arrested the PU professor for his alleged involvement following forensic psychological assessments.
Bharat Bhushan Goyal, a senior professor at the UBS, was arrested from outside his residence in December, following the findings of the Brain Electrical Oscillation Signature (BEOS) and polygraph tests. Later in the day, he was produced before the Chandigarh court, where he was remanded in three days of police custody.
According to the police, the case remained riddled with complexities from the beginning, but a combination of forensic psychological assessments, and years of scientific and circumstantial evidence paved the way for the professor’s arrest.
As per the police, the brain oscillation and polygraph tests of the accused and his daughter were conducted, in which the circumstantial evidence indicated the role of Bharat Bhushan in the murder. He was taken into custody for further questioning in the matter.
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The murder came to light on November 4, 2021, on the morning of Diwali. When the milkman called out, Bharat Bhushan came downstairs and found the main door locked from outside. Upon entering the house, he discovered his wife’s body lying in a ground-floor room, bound and gagged. Her hands and feet were tied with cloth, and her mouth had been pressed shut. There were five–seven severe injury marks on her body. The postmortem examination confirmed death due to strangulation.
There were no signs of a violent struggle at the crime scene. No jewellery, cash, or valuables were missing from the house, leading the police to rule out robbery angle.
Suspicion rose against the professor when investigators found that the metal mesh on a door had been cut from the inside, contradicting his claim that an outsider had entered, killed Seema, and fled. Also, during the probe earlier, the forensic experts of CFSL-36 had ruled out any forcible entry in the house and concluded that the iron meshes found tampered were cut from inside.
Seema Goyal’s brother, Deep, had pointed fingers at the professor just days after the incident. He had alleged that the murder could not have been committed by an outsider and alleged that someone inside the house was responsible.
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Deep had also approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, expressing dissatisfaction with the pace of investigation, after which the probe gained momentum.
During the investigation, the couple’s daughter told the police that a heated argument had taken place between her parents just a day before Diwali. Though she was not home at the time when the incident took place, her statement reinforced the police doubts about the professor’s version of events.
In December, 2021, the police had sought court approval for a narco analysis test on the professor. He agreed to undergo the test, claiming he wanted the truth to come out. However, during medical evaluation at the Gandhinagar lab in March 2022, doctors deemed him medically unfit, preventing the narco test from being administered. Goyal was also found to have asthmatic symptoms.
However, over the next four years, the police conducted brain mapping and forensic psychological assessment on the professor. The results indicated that the suspect had experiential memories connected to the crime scene, and circumstances surrounding the murder.
Timeline
* November 4, 2021: Seema Goyal’s body found at her PU campus residence.
* November 2021: Police recorded statements of Prof. Goyal and their daughter.
* December 2021: Police approached court seeking permission for a narco test.
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* March 2022: Gujarat Forensic Lab declared Prof. Goyal unfit for a narco test.
* August 2022: Punjab and Haryana High Court sought a status report from police on a petition filed by Seema Goyal’s brother requesting an independent probe.
* July 2025: Prof Goyal underwent a BEOS test
* December 2025: Police arrested Prof Goyal from Panjab University
