3 min readLucknowApr 23, 2026 12:04 AM IST
On Monday, Bareilly Police were informed that a 33-year-old property dealer was not responding to calls or knocks on his door. A police team was dispatched to his house in Izzatnagar, where officers were met with a tragic sight — the man and his pet Labrador lay on the floor, dead.
An empty packet of celphos tablets was recovered from the room, leading police to suspect poisoning.
Police said the victim, Nikhil Arora, was unmarried and had been living alone with his pet dog, Dollar, since 2023. His family had endured a series of personal losses — his father, Satish Kumar Arora, a businessman, died in 2015, followed by his mother, who succumbed to cancer in 2021.
Police said Nikhil, too, had been facing financial strain as his business was not doing well. Police suspect the mounting debt and loneliness may have driven him to take the extreme step.
Officers suspect he allegedly mixed the tablets in a liquid, gave it to his pet dog before consuming it himself. No suicide note was found at the scene, said Superintendent of Police, Bareilly, Manush Pareek.
However, police said they recovered an audio clip from his phone in which he was purportedly heard telling a person on the other end that he was unable to repay money he had borrowed and intended to consume poison.
He is survived by two younger sisters, Shalini and Sheetal Arora. Shalini is married while Sheetal is pursuing post graduation. They live in Lucknow.
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Family members recounted how Nikhil brought home Dollar as a puppy in 2019. They said the dog had become his only companion and “like family” to him. Nikhil was known to care for the animal meticulously — preparing its meals himself, ensuring it was fed before he ate, and spending hours in its company.
The family suspected Nikhil may have administered poison to the dog, fearing no one would be able to look after it in the same way after his death.
“Dollar meant everything to him,” said Shalini. “We spoke to Nikhil regularly and had no indication that he was going through any crisis that could drive him to such a step. Even on calls, he always sounded cheerful.”
Dheeraj Chandana, Nikhil’s cousin and a private school teacher, said the family first grew concerned when his routine suddenly changed. “Nikhil would usually come to our home for meals, but for the past one or two days, he had not been coming. We tried calling him, but he did not answer. At first, we assumed he might be resting,” he said.
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“Later, some of his friends also called to say he was not responding to their calls. Concerned, I tried reaching out to him again, but there was still no response. On Monday afternoon, I went to his house and knocked repeatedly, but there was no answer from inside,” he added.
Dheeraj finally informed the police. Officers broke open the door and found Nikhil and Dollar dead inside.
