From the year 1991 to 1993…
the Bangalore police did not investigate this case responsibly.
They sent a few policemen
to interrogate Shraddhananda.
He told them that…
Shakereh Khaleeli was in the USA and would not return anytime soon.
The Bangalore police could not do anything for three years.
But after three years…
this case was handed over to the Crime Branch.
-She was missing for so long -Yeah.
we just didn't know what had happened to her.
It was over two years, wasn't it?
-A number of years. I don't know. -Three or four years.
Yeah, two or three years.
We used to hear all kinds of garbage stories
coming out saying that,
"Oh, she was in an accident on the Mysore Road
and she was buried there. "
I know some of my cousins tried to go to soothsayers
and fortune tellers and try and find out what had happened to her.
This is an IFS officer's wife.
Comes from a well-known family…
who fell for a…
a fellow way below her status
and suddenly disappearing.
I started thinking about the fact whether she could have been alive somewhere.
There were violent murders.
Stabbing, beating, axing.
But, I don't think I've seen a…
height of cruelty…
on an innocent woman…
of this type.
It's not the question of fear, sir.
Once you're in the police force, you gain courage.
We used to identify and keep the criminals in check before the crime took place.
No crime would take place under my watch.
My name is Azmatullah B.
B means Badari.
We come from a place called Badari.
Assalamu alaikum, Abbuji.
Walaikum assalam.
I was posted at CCB by my senior Mr. Kodandaramaiah.
This case was reported in 1991.
A complaint about a missing woman was filed at the Ashok Nagar Police Station.
Somewhere in 1994, Mr. Kodandaramaiah
asked me to make a good, straightforward, strong case.
Genuine. It should be a genuine case.
Sabah, he narrated to me how
it had happened in the past.
That her mother has not communicated with any of the four daughters,
for such a long time.
Her mother was enticed by
an alleged Swamiji…
of Rampur.
She said they went and confronted that so-called Swamiji,
and he gave some stories.
She was saying that she would go to England.
I mean, why was she not in touch with her daughters if not anybody else?
That's my doubt.
I said…
something has happened.
I told the staff…
we should get the information.
That office had the best staff and extremely courageous inspectors.
They arrested several culprits every day.
They worked on eight to ten people every day.
By work, I mean questioning.
We inquired, but there was no result.
But then we inquired here and there, even in the Airports.
We have no evidence to say that…
she went to England.
Her mother cannot disappear into thin air like this!
Then I told the guys,
get the Swamiji to the CCB,
and work on him and we should get the information.
I am Ravindra Reshme.
I have been a journalist for the past 41 years.
Those days he was one of those respected members of the elite society in Bangalore.
They were living in the most posh locality, Richmond town, No. 81,
with his wife.
For five hours they questioned him…
but he was so unmoved.
Stony silence was his characteristic.
The posture he maintained throughout was…
he's as much worried as the daughters of the victim,
about the missing wife.
The initial inquiry didn't reveal anything,
and after that he was released.
He did not break down or give any clue and…
the case is stand still.
Where there is no evidence of any kind.
Actually there was no clue.
They were thinking of filing a C (Closure) report
that is undetected
at that stage.
I called the officers concerned and discussed with them.
They said they are also unable to solve the case,
and they have not been able to get any clue.
But I gave certain directions about working out a clue,
on the presumption that she is put to death.
And the only person who could've done that was this man.
And there is no other person in the country
who is interested to finish her.
I told the staff…
"You have to keep a watch on him, and on his movements…
and that property on the Richmond Road. "
I still recall this…
conversation that I had with
Mr. P. Kodandaramaiah, then police commissioner.
I asked him, "Where did you get the breakthrough?"
That's when he said that,
"I'm rewarding my constable.
His name is Mahadeva. "
One day, Head Constable Mahadeva came and informed me that…
they've got some clue.
We already were on a missing woman case.
We had a complaint against Swami Shraddhananda,
as we had our doubts on him.
And later we found out about him,
and had our informant…
give us details, and we got the lead.
How did you get it out of him?
By getting him drunk?
I said how?
So, Mr. Kodandaramaiah had a very hearty laugh.
Anyway…
crime clues are worked out in places not visited by gentlemen.
I meant people…
Like addas.
And, Mr. Mahadeva here, was able to…
work out something in a Arrack shop.
Arrack was a country liquor at that time.
What you call in Hindi as "tharra. "
Arrack used to be sold in sachets those days.
-Tell us your name? -Raju.
In this case, we have given money and paid for liquor.
They are like daily wage laborers.
We have to pay money also.
I also laughed. I said, "Oh!"
Who is…
So Mahadeva, how many drinks did he have?
So he said no Mahadeva just held a drink,
but, Raju spilled the beans.
He had I think three…
sachets of…
Aarack.
He did an excellent job.
He got that sense of
suspicion,
when he first heard about the place
and the wooden box.
But the surprising thing was that
the box had been fitted with four wheels.
The carpenter said, I had very specific instructions on the size of the box.
And the box was ordered by…
Shraddhananda Swami.
That day in the afternoon,
Swamiji called me up and asked me to bring the box.
I took four guys along with me…
and brought it here from the guest house.
I brought the box.
He then handed me a 100 rupee note for everyone.
He gave it to all of us.
After that…
my madam…
my madam--
She was fast asleep.
I've been reduced to this condition
because of my madam.
Because of drinking…
The case was dead…
till Mahadeva took this guy for a drink and got this information.
We got on the particular gentleman
which confirmed our suspicion that yes,
Shraddhananda has got something to do with the disappearance.
Once he sensed that something is going to happen,
then he files a complaint and also takes an anticipatory bail.
So that's how he goes on pointing fingers at the police only.
He had got an anticipatory bail, so we couldn't just catch him.
And if we got him to the station…
he could file a case against us.
I thought yes,
there is some strong
reason to believe,
that he put her out.
And it has to be dug out.
That's how I told them to start working out the clues.
The property is very vast.
I gave it to her…
and their four children.
And that is where he put his…
Earlier, during the questioning,
we got to know that…
after their marriage, he got a will made…
and secondly a power of attorney.
So he could buy, sell her property.
We knew
that he got some papers
signed by Shakereh,
papers of property…
to be transferred to his name.
This man had sold the property.
He had struck a deal with one of the biggest builders at that point of time
for 6.5 crore rupees.
He would enter into a contract of sale
for the sale of the entire property number 81.
But, to the exclusion of this area…
in which his residential premises was
located.
No, no, no!
I have some sentimental reasons for this place.
Both husband and wife, we lived together here.
I don’t want to give this!
To the exclusion of this area…
you can buy the property.
That was the guilty mind!
One day I came in the evening, around 6:00 p. m.
I said,
call the maidservant Josephine.
She came,
and I questioned her
about the habits of Shraddhananda.
Where would he go in the morning?
In the afternoon?
In the evening?
Where would he have his meals?
I asked her everything.
My husband Raju and I
worked at 81 Richmond Road house.
We took care of the cooking and cleaning there.
Like always, we were busy with our work on that day too.
But, that day, only Swamiji came out of the bedroom.
Before I started with my work, I noticed that
due to rain the backyard soil had become damp and wet.
There were mud puddles everywhere.
Before 28th May, the backyard had a lot of Tulsi plants.
Swamiji wanted to make an underground tank there.
But, that day there was only one Tulsi plant there.
Swamiji asked me to nourish it well.
And I obliged.
While she was talking, she one day told me that,
on the day of Eid
he performed a prayer.
And later, he would pour milk over the Tulsi plant.
Suddenly, something flashed in my mind.
Back in our village, where I hail from,
the Brahmin priests cremate their dead.
And after that they plant a Tulsi sapling in that same spot.
And then they pour milk on it.
I realized that he too is a Brahmin
and maybe that's why he is pouring milk on the plant.
So that created the first doubt in my mind.
The second doubt was the power of attorney.
Both of these doubts put me in a position to think
and I decided we will get him and interrogate him.
I was also scared because
I am not someone who would arrest anyone without any proof and spoil their life.
Till the end I was scared. What if I was making a mistake?
I was scared that an innocent person would go to jail because of me.
After much deliberation, one night at 2:00 a. m. we decided to interrogate him.
We left to get him.
At 2:00 a. m. we knocked at his door.
He opened the door and we went inside.
We got him to the station.
I said okay the game is up. Come out.
He said nothing doing. There is no game up.
I just don't know anything about it, she disappeared.
And he takes him to Koramangala police station…
and there they question him seriously.
Using very strong and aggressive language.
Jai hind, sir.
"I don't know where she is. " He kept on saying that.
Till the time I got the case he kept on lying like this.
By the time he came to the station, it was almost 4:00 a. m.
I was sitting like this and he was sitting on the opposite side.
I sent my driver to get coffee.
I served coffee to him, myself and the staff.
After having coffee I told him,
"Look Shraddhananda even I have a family.
I do not need to trouble anyone unnecessarily.
I do not involve anyone unnecessarily.
If there is something, tell me.
Tell me clearly, what is the matter?"
As soon as I said this he became emotional.
He was fed up of all the harassment.
He suddenly fell at my feet.
He was seeking pity and started crying.
I asked him to get up and sit.
He started telling me his story.
The real story.
My name is Swami Shraddhananda.
Shakereh used to treat me like a servant.
Every day she used to find a reason to fight with me.
She did not love me anymore. She hated me.
Even though I had sacrificed so much for her.
She was quarreling with him it seems.
For two things, number one is why did you get my properties
registered in your name?
And then all your promises about getting a male child
are not fulfilled.
So I want the properties back.
"I've made a huge mistake
by trusting you. "
She said this and yelled at me.
I could not sleep all night. Her words were ringing in my ears.
I thought that if I did nothing even then,
I would be thrown out of our house on the street.
I suppose he knew that if the children also had to come close to her…
his influence would not…
be too much or at all.
In the first week of May 1991 I went to the wooden market…
and got a plywood box made from there.
I decided that…
I will kill her.
Shraddhananda said that if we took him,
he can show us the place and the body!
He said if you take me…
I will show you the place and the body.
This is very important.
According to law, immediately I must go.
Without losing a minute of time.
He said he will show the place.
He led them to the
property on Richmond Road.
We got him home.
I held him on one side and gave him the keys.
They took him inside…
and took him to the place of the crime.
On 28th May 1991…
around 8:00 a. m. in the morning, our cook Josephine brought tea.
I thought this was a perfect opportunity.
I quietly took…
the sleeping tablets and stirred them into her tea.
Shakereh was awake.
I handed her the cup with a smile.
Around 9:30 a. m. I told my staff that Shakereh was unwell.
A while little later I went to the Taj for lunch.
A chalk piece was given to him.
He would mark the area
in the backyard.
We asked him to show us. So he took the chalk and marked
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8…
he marked the entire area.
Some labor was summoned
and they excavated the earth.
He was just standing there on the side. He had become mild.
In the afternoon around 3:30 p. m. , I came back home.
I saw that Shakereh was still sleeping.
She didn't wake up.
I asked Raju to shift the plywood box from the guestroom
to the bedroom.
He would bring that box…
he would keep it by the side of the cot.
After that, I locked the door from the inside.
After it was excavated…
a wooden box was seen
lying in a slanted position.
It was diagonal.
You can see it in the CD.
It was diagonal.
He pushed his wife and she would fall down
inside the box
with her face downwards.
Then he would put the top,
nail it as if it's a coffin.
Then he would venture to open that area between about
2 and 1/2 by 4 feet.
I was standing right by the grave
and we couldn't believe what met our eyes.
There was just a skeleton with a tuft of hair.
And there was a bit of flesh on the left leg.
This was a crime most horrendous
and unthinkable.
He just pulled her around with a sheet…
got her into that box,
nailed her down and just…
he must have just thrown her into the pit.
You mean to say he has not been planning this for some time?
And how well he's done it…
how secretly, he's done it.
I could never imagine that she was murdered.
I just cannot associate seeing…
a skeleton of my mother.
We just don't know…
how to take it, it hasn't still sunk, the grief that we are feeling.
The grief is too great.
One feels stunned.
Cruel man…
schemed.
She was a mother too.
Like I'm a mother, she was a mother too.
At the time he told the CCB that she was
breathing at the time she was put into the box and closed.
She was alive!
She was alive when he buried her!
Most shocking thing is that…
Shakereh Khaleeli was buried alive.
She was buried alive.
She was not dead when she went inside.
He wasn't a human being, he was really a monster.
CENTRAL JAIL, SAGAR
My name is Swami Shraddhananda.
I am also known as Murli Manohar Mishra, which is my original name.
I want to tell you that
whatever has been spoken about me
is a lie.
It is all just a white lie and nothing else.