In the last 3 decades, a gruesome murder every few years has left India shaken. The latest is the case of Shraddha who was killed and chopped into pieces allegedly by her boyfriend Aaftab.
Here's a look at the cases in the past which horrified India.
The first case is of Shakereh Namazi. On 28 May 1991, Namazi was killed by her husband. She was buried alive in the backyard of her Bengaluru house. Namazi was the granddaughter of the former Dewan of Mysore. Her husband, Murli Manohar Misra aka Swami Shraddhanand, was found guilty. Misra, who was Namazi's second husband, had added sedatives to her tea, and then put an unconscious Namazi into a coffin, before burying her in the backyard.
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Misra was accused of killing Namazi to gain possession of her wealth. Namazi's body was exhumed in 1994 and it was reportedly the first case in India of DNA testing to identify the victim. Misra eventually confessed and was handed a death sentence. This was later reduced to life in jail without remission.
The next case became known across the country as the 'tandoor' murder scandal.
On 2 July 1995, Naina Sahni was killed by her husband Sushil Sharma. Sushil, a Congress politician, had suspected Naina of having an extramarital affair. Sushil shot Naina twice in a drunken rage at their Delhi home. He first thought of dumping her body in the Yamuna river, but dropped the plan after seeing many cars on the bridge. Sushil then went to Baigya, a restaurant managed by his friend Keshav. The two then ttried to burn Naina's chopped body in a tandoor, or clay oven.
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Subsequently, Sushil went on the run, but was arrested within a week. The first autopsy of Naina's body said that the death had occurred due to burns. But the second autopsy revealed bullet wounds. Sushil then confessed and was sentenced to death. This was later changed to life imprisonment. His accomplice Keshav Sharma was sentenced to 7 years in jail. In 2018, the Delhi High Court ordered Sushil's release as he had served his sentence.
A decade later, a serial killer duo shocked the national capital region.
In Dec 2006, Noida police found skeletal remains in a drain in the city's Nithari area. Subsequently, they arrested the owner of the house near the drain, and his domestic help. Skulls and bones of 16 persons, mostly children, were recovered from the site. Businessman Moninder Singh Pandher and his help Surinder Koli were accused of rape, murder of multiple people. The duo killed several girls, chopped their bodies, and threw them out. Pandher was sentenced to death in at least 3 cases, while Koli got the death sentence in more than 10 cases.
Two years later, India's financial capital was stunned by a high-profile murder.
On 7 May 2008, Neeraj Grover, a senior executive at a TV production company, was stabbed to death. Former Navy officer, Emile Jerome Mathew, was accused of murder. The death occurred at the home of Mathew's wife Maria Susairaj, a Kannada actor. Mathew had suspected his wife of having an extra-marital affair. He had flown to Mumbai after hearing a man's voice on phone while talking to Maria.
Mathew was accused of killing Neeraj in jealousy and anger. Mathew and Maria then allegedly chopped Neeraj's body, and stuffed it in bags. The couple then allegedly drove to a forest, poured petrol on the body, and burned it. Mathew was sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment in 2011. Maria Susairaj was sentenced to 3 years in jail for destroying evidence.
A few years, it was Bengaluru's turn to be stunned by a cold-blooded crime.
In July 2015, MG Gokul, a techie, allegedly beat his wife to death. Gokul was accused of hatching an elaborate plan to marry his college friend. The alleged plan involved murder and a terror attack hoax. In July 2015, Gokul allegedly got his wife Anuradha drunk, and then used a Ganesh idol to club her to death. Gokul said that a drunk Anuradha had died by hitting her head on a table.
The case was initially closed, but reopened after a series terror hoax calls a few weeks later. Gokul had also procured SIM cards in the name of his college friend's husband. In Sept 2015, Gokul allegedly called airports with bomb threats. He allegedly tried to frame his friend's husband, and portray him as an ISIS agent. Gokul wanted the husband arrested so he could get romantically involved with his friend. The investigators traced the threat calls to Gokul and claimed to have uncovered the entire plot.
The latest case which has gripped the nation's attention took place in Delhi a few months ago, but the facts have begun emerging now.
In May this year, Shraddha Walkar was allegedly killed by her live-in partner. Aaftab Amin Poonawala has been accused of strangling Shraddha to death. But he apparently didn't stop there. Aaftab allegedly chopped Shraddha's body into 35 pieces, and then stored them in a refrigerator.
Aaftab allegedly kept the body parts at his Mehrauli house for 3 weeks. He went out past midnight over several days to dump the body parts, according to police. Disturbingly, Aaftab allegedly invited other women to his home while he had Shraddha's body parts there. Aaftab was recently arrested, and is being questioned by police to piece together the entire story.