RANSOM, CRIMINAL ACT
For the last 30 years, Swami Shraddhananda
has been serving his sentence in prison.
Swami Shraddhananda buried his wife Shakereh
in her own house in Central Bangalore.
Shraddhananda claims he is not guilty and that he should now be released.
Will Shraddhananda become a danger to society if he is let out?
That's all for this story.
But for everything else, stay tuned to Aaj Tak.
I am Shams Tahir Khan.
And for the last twenty-five years, I have been reporting on crimes.
I have seen criminals being let off for much more heinous crimes than this.
In Shraddhananda's case,
given his good conduct and good behavior in jail for the last 28 years,
I won't be surprised if he is released.
But from the family's perspective,
the crime he has committed stands no chance of mercy.
He was a normal man.
He came in that particular household to solve their problems.
If he's an innocent man, then, you know,
every day, which he spends in prison…
is beyond imagination.
Because he never confessed his crime before me.
He maintains his innocence.
It'll be a travesty of justice if he's pardoned.
You know, she had a horrendous exit from the world…
beyond imagination.
You know, Shakereh used to read at our prayer meetings.
It's called a Marsiya, an elegy.
And she had a beautiful voice.
She really had a lovely voice.
And I just could not believe it,
I mean, she was so vital and so full of life and…
I think it's just…
a feeling of such a waste of a life.
She had so much to give.
And it's such a shocking waste of a life, a young life.
In a case of murder…
the court could award only two types of sentences.
One is, the life imprisonment…
or a death sentence.
By the time the case came up for final hearing,
he had been in prison…
for nearly 13 years.
And an ordinary sentence of life imprisonment,
would get commuted in 14 years.
So even if he was held guilty,
it was conceivable that he'd walk out of jail
no sooner than the case was over.
The family thought that would also be a problem.
Because then he would come back,
he would interfere with their lives,
he would possibly lay claim to the property.
After all, he was the husband.
It is very rarely…
that the courts would impose a sentence of death,
in a case which rests on circumstantial evidence.
I put the case before the court…
for imposing the death sentence.
I was very much sure that this case was not a case for
either for conviction leave,
you know, forget about death penalty.
I am Bannurmath SR.
Saminder is my first name.
I was a judge of the Karnataka High Court.
This is a small kitchen garden.
One hour spent here
is equivalent to your two or three hours of relaxation and sleeping…
with sleeping tablets rather.
In my career,
as a judge of 12 years,
every murder is brutal and heinous.
So how to know the difference between one murder and another?
If you find that it is most gruesome and heinous,
well-plotted, for gain,
it becomes the rarest of rare case.
Ultimately, now, I have reached to the conclusion
it is the mindset of the judge.
This was the crime most horrendous
and despicable and unthinkable.
What would've been most appropriate, it would have been a death sentence.
You know, to salvage what he did to my aunt.
There is nothing rare in this case.
No such evidence has been led which shows that this man was…
criminal by nature
and the moment he will come out he will commit another crime.
The first stage of collection of evidence was the apprehension of the accused.
He was arrested…
interrogated.
He volunteered…
the information.
Yes, I have done to death…
my wife.
He put the markings for…
the purpose of excavation of the earth…
at the place where he had buried the body.
The accused was arrested on the 28th of March, 1994.
And they called this man, asked him to give a statement
and this poor man gave a statement that yes he buried his wife.
I argued that point before the Honorable Apex Court.
It's not permissible to use that particular piece of evidence or statement.
There is an inherent defect in this particular case.
The prosecution came up with the theory
that this woman was given sedatives…
or poison in her tea.
So in the trial court they were not able to prove
the administration of the poison.
And, before finding the dead body…
the accused is in police custody.
How come…
he's having keys in his possession?
There is clear cut evidence that he was having the keys.
That's why you say, if you find something, seal it
so that it is not available to the investigating officers
to subsequently show false recoveries.
This is a case of circumstantial evidence.
There is a break in the circumstance.
The policeman, when they arrested him,
when they search this person, the keys were there.
That would also indicate…
no one could have had access to that place.
To bring home the guilt of the accused…
in particular, the evidence of Sabah.
And then the conduct of the accused…
to give an indication that her mother is still alive…
that was the guilty mind.
Is it not a case of an act of breach of trust?
A trust which your wife had imposed upon you.
Innocently…
you deceived her.
He emptied her bank accounts.
Removed all the jewelry.
He wanted to knock off her properties.
That to when it was brought to the notice of the court…
that it is a case of a husband
committing an act of breach of trust.
So it is nothing but…
a fool proof case of murder for gain.
Every time before coming to the conclusion,
practically I used to lose my sleep,
and look into the facts again and again.
Based on entire evidence, after we reached to the conclusion
that the skeleton found in the box, buried in the house…
was that of Shakereh.
The accused had sufficient motive,
opportunity to commit the murder of his wife,
only with the sole objective of enriching himself
by appropriating her valuable properties.
In my opinion, the facts of the present case clearly fall
within the category of rarest of the rare case.
This man is guilty of the murder.
The judge having accepted the submissions made
on behalf of the prosecution
has ordered that the accused be sentenced to death
and he should be hanged till his death.
It is not a compensation for my mother's death,
because I cannot get my mother back.
But justice has been done.
I don't know but I am so happy today
that I don't care whether it took another five years but,
this is what we were aiming for, this result.
And I must just be thankful for this and,
I think I have been very blessed that we got the victory on our side.
My objective was, I'll argue for an acquittal because…
certainly this judgment cannot stand legally.
I used to be the standing council for the state of Karnataka.
By the time the case came up for final hearing,
the question was whether the Supreme Court would
uphold the death sentence.
I told the two judges,
I don't know how much of the Indian epics you know.
But, there is a sentence which makes absolute sense to everybody in India.
Ravana's sin…
was not only that he kidnapped Sita…
but that he kidnapped her wearing saffron clothes.
That is he came, dressed as an ascetic
and then kidnapped her.
There are numerous cases
in which death penalty has not been imposed.
He is not a hardened criminal.
He is not beyond reformation.
Where is the evidence?
The lady's body was recovered from the pit within the house.
This man went on living in the house,
went on telling people that she was alive and she had gone off to USA
and there was the additional circumstance that he had commissioned…
the carpenter to build that box in which her body was found.
The facts were obvious.
So in the end, honorable Justice Katju
was in favor of imposing death penalty.
Honorable Justice, Mr. Sinha,
he didn't impose death penalty.
So it was a split verdict.
This was the first time in the country
the supreme court said…
let him live and die in jail.
And the larger belt would say…
CENTRAL JAIL SAGAR
…no escape for him.
As long as he lives…
let him live in jail.
Let him breathe his last in jail.
This punishment that the supreme court gave me…
it is worse than capital punishment.
People think that getting life is everything.
This life is like a rotting vegetable.
I have to die here itself.
If they would have killed me that day, it would've been better.
Hasn't the Supreme Court left me here to die?
I cannot eat, drink, wear or even die by my own choice.
It would have been better if they had buried me in a box alive too.
I would be relieved if that happens.
I can't see myself dying every day.
For me, it is the same routine since 30 years.
Eat, drink, sleep and repeat.
Beyond that there is no new routine.
I am only waiting for death to come.
One of the purpose of inflicting punishment is to bring about reformation.
So, this kind of sentence is unprecedented.
Where were you roaming all the time?
How many did you hunt today?
How much did you eat?
She can eat anything. She kills snakes.
She kills every snake she sees.
Lie down here.
How are you?
You're a mischievous cat.
Aah…
Here, lay down here.
Move your leg aside
and show me your tummy. Is there any baby in it?
No?
Oh!
Aren't you good?
Tell me?
Are you Shakereh's ghost?
So, we thought that we should also give an opportunity
to the accused, to say something.
He might have said, yes I'm sorry.
I did it.
But there was no repentance we could see on his face.
In fact, he reportedly told the press, quote, I have no regrets.
It didn't come through, unquote.
If Shakereh was still alive…
-Yeah? -would you still be together,
-do you think? -Of course we would.
Of course.
She was a good lady.
I used love her.
When you…
were dragging Shakereh off the bed, into the casket
and nailing it…
what were you feeling?
I had lost my mind at the time.
The only thing I could think of was, "How should I save myself?"
I knew that this would come up one day.
The blood will speak.
-One day it will come. -So you knew…
you would be caught eventually?
Of course, I knew that I will be caught one day.
One day I will be caught.
If he was so prepared that he will be caught then
why wasn't he prepared for the consequences of it?
Isn't that interesting to note?
I had lost my mind at the time.
The only thing I could think of was, "How should I save myself?"
Isn't that interesting, "How to save myself, how to save myself?"
Not realizing the magnitude of the sin committed, the crime.
It's all about him. The fear is for himself.
After the murder, he buried the body in his courtyard…
and put a marble flooring on it.
He thought he was successful and no one knew about it.
He used to party with four-five people, danced and had fun.
His friends had no idea that beneath the floor
on which they were dancing Shakereh Khaleeli was buried.
That first, the story about this crime was given the name,
"Dancing On The Grave".
Though he maintained a low profile,
he was given to leading a luxurious lifestyle.
Literally wining, dining and partying on the same courtyard
under which his wife lay buried in a coffin.
And partying and dancing in the discos
and having, apparently the maid says, parties on her grave.
He is an animal. He is not a man.
He told her that he was building a sump, a water sump, in the compound.
He made her stand there and dig her own grave literally.
To this day,
do you still feel guilty?
Once you make a mistake, to cover it you make the second mistake.
You make the third mistake, you make the fourth mistake.
And that was happening to me…
because I'm not a…
criminal.
Were you faithful to Shakereh?
I was faithful to Shakereh.
I was faithful to her…
and she was faithful to me also.
The way he speaks,
the way he is talking about different events,
about life, his generosity, doing things for others…
you start wondering, whether he did this crime or not?
So, if you felt empathy for this person…
and just over, a few hours.
So you can imagine what Shakereh must've gone through.
How much she must have believed and trusted him.
Either they have never believed in that,
that I have not murdered Shakereh.
They always say that you've murdered her because that suits them.
Plausible.
It's plausible.
But then a dead person doesn't go around clutching blankets.
There were thousands of fingernail marks on that coffin.
She regained consciousness.
She began knocking at the sides of the box.
She tried knocking on the sides and the lid.
Wherever she could find some space…
Where she felt she could find the space for a hole, or a way out…
she kept scratching with her nails.
She began gnawing at the sides.
When she was exhumed,
her fingernails had wooden chips in them.
At one place she'd scratched so much that her finger could have come off.
She used her entire strength.
But she could not come out because she was totally trapped.
She was buried alive. She was buried alive.
She was not dead when she went inside.
The evidence is clear.
He himself said that he added the pills, he shut her in the casket and buried her.
He never told me or anyone, that he found her dead at home.
He killed her, buried her, shut her in the casket
and then paved the place with slabs.
He planted a Tulsi plant at that place
and was pouring milk on it. Why?
Is it Shakereh's voice?
Yes it is her voice!
Actually…
She…
Cruel man.
Schemed.
She was a mother, too.
Like I'm a mother. She was a mother too.
When I first heard about it and while I was talking to Sabah,
you know, the back of my mind there was this reel running.
She has four lovely daughters.
She has a beautiful home.
She has a rich husband, a well-placed husband.
How can she…
get embroiled with a man who's obviously
playing on her emotions and her vulnerability?
This bothered me a lot.
I remember Shakereh telling me
that "I was 12 years old when my grandfather was walking with me".
And he said that, "You will marry Akbar".
They were first cousins. Their mothers were sisters.
And they adored their grandfather Sir Mirza.
They just adored him.
So, you know when you tell a child that, it kind of sits in the mind,
or she may not have gone against what he told her.
I think she probably had accepted that.
And so her attitude and her feelings must have been different.
And Shakereh, she was very ambitious.
Very ambitious.
She had a very good, you know, very fair real estate in Bangalore.
You know, she had a burning desire to achieve.
In a way, she could have said that it's in her genes
because Agha Ali Asgar was a builder.
Samir Khan, who was one of the other cousins, is a very well-known builder.
She may have said that and felt that,
which is why she wanted to go down that road.
She was so full of life.
So full of life, and so different.
And I always hold it as a very lovely memory
of the dull, drab reception hall.
This was a reception thrown for the employees
and Indian citizens who were in Iran.
And this very attractive lady just came in.
She was wearing a pink chiffon sari.
Very beautifully embroidered with silver work
and rather a low neck.
To my mind, it didn't seem that she did that often.
And then she came and stopped right in front of me.
And then she said…
"How do you manage?"
So I said, "Like everybody else".
As we have to manage, we have no choices.
And then she smiled and she walked away.
I mean, I was shocked when I saw his photograph that
what he wore, what he looked…
I mean, it was totally the opposite of Mr. Khaleeli.
She was finding a place for herself.
It was just total rebellion.
You know, I rather fall into a ditch…
than to live this life.
She took a wrong decision…
but she took it.
As she reposed a lot of trust in…
Murli Manohar Mishra.
I don't think I would have been able to change her mind.
She was a very strong person
and you know when she committed or decided on a route,
it was very difficult to get her to change.
I cautioned her against him…
and he said, "You".
I said, look, such people are only after your money.
Shakereh auntie's mother, Auntie Gauhar Taj,
was very loving to the daughter.
Unfortunately, eventually after she married him,
that relationship become a bit strained.
The Property belonged to the mother.
And then she wanted some of the property back.
I think towards the latter end of her life,
she was not permitted to meet the family or speak to the family.
Some people said she deserved it…
for what she's done.
When the body was exhumed,
the parents were asked to come identify the body.
I. G. P of police and crime in-charge, he came and spoke to me.
He said, what is this lady to you?
I said she is my mother's cousin.
He said, "I'm a devout Christian.
And God forsakes those who forsake the families".
He was saying that, because Auntie Shakereh left her family,
for a man like Murli Manohar Mishra,
even God left her hand.
And this is what happened because of God not being on her side.
I am Zainul Abdin.
I work here.
I keep this place clean and take care of it.
This is a Shia cemetery,
in Bengaluru.
The famous Mirza Mohd. Ismail…
he is buried here. This is his grave.
This graveyard and everything is all because of Sir Mirza Ismail.
Gauhartaj Begum…
and Haji Mirza Gulam Hussain Namazie.
Here are their graves.
After the body was exhumed in Bangalore,
the parents wanted to be buried in a Muslim graveyard.
But the people in the Anjuman, in Bangalore, they didn't allow her
because they thought that what she did was not correct.
They prohibited her from being buried in the graveyard in Bangalore.
What he did was…
absolutely unforgivable.
This continuing imprisonment…
with no hope…
of ever being released…
was an appropriate sentence.
Apex Court had already pronounced,
why they are giving till his life ends.
Reason was, he is unfit to live in the society…
amongst the normal human beings.
Mr. Akbar Khaleeli, I'm recording you here as a quote.
Swami Shraddhananda has appealed for pardon
after 30 years in prison.
Your view on this since you appeared
for every single hearing on this case over the years.
He was given every opportunity…
to defend himself.
But ultimately justice prevailed.
It would not be a nice thing
for the Supreme Court's judgment
to be overruled
for a fraud and crooked criminal
who took enough advantage
of everything…
to commit a cold-blooded murder.
But since you have asked me,
-I'm giving you my views. -Yes, sir.
Gauhar Taj came once to
meet my mother when my sister passed away.
It was a long time back.
And she was weeping over her daughter saying,
"Your daughter at least got a burial.
And my daughter couldn't get that also. "
That was her grief.
And I heard that her bones were buried somewhere,
even that was not confirmed.
Probably, they must've just made a bundle of it
and buried it in the Kabristan.
Even that is possible.
Nothing was done. Neither the Namaaz was done
nor any prayers were done for her. Nothing.
This is the place.
Oh…
What is this?
Oh, God! I can't even recognize this property.
Is this 81 Richmond Road?
How has it become?
Oh, a tree has grown here.
-The tree came out here only? -Yes.
It grew in the center.
Oh, God!
She was a person who loved life.
In fact, even now, I feel like you know, I feel her presence next to me.