After over five and a half years, a CBI court in Ghaziabad will pronounce its judgment today in the Aarushi-Hemraj double murder, one of India's most sensational criminal trials in which the girl's parents, both dentists, are the prime suspects. However, this is not a 'solitary' case that became sensational. Over the decades, many murder cases in India have grabbed the spotlight and still continue to shock the public years after they were committed. Here is our pick
Aarushi Talwar case
Date of murder: 16 May, 2008
One of the most sensational murder cases to have come to light in recent years was the Aarushi Talwar murder case. The case, which made headlines across the country for the brutality of the crime and the prolonged duration of the case to find the accused came to a climax when the Central Bureau of Investigation accused the parents of the deceased - Rajesh and Nupur Talwar of committing the crime.
On 16, May 2008, fourteen year old Aarushi Talwar was found dead with her throat slit in her home in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The domestic help called Hemraj was also found murdered.
The case baffled the police and investigators as the parents - Rajesh and Nupur Talwar who were sleeping next room were unharmed. After years of police investigation and media scrutiny, the CBI charged Rajesh and Nupur Talwar of killing their daughter whom the found in a compromising position with the domestic help.
Tandoor Murder case
Date of murder: 2 July, 1995
The Tandoor Murder case that rocked the country in the year 1995 became known for its notoriety. The victim - Naina Sahni was the wife of Sushil Sharma who was an MLA at that time.
Sushil Sharma objected to his wife's friendship with one of her classmates due to which they had frequent quarrels. On one such day, Sushil, in a fit of rage murdered his wife. What followed was horrifying, as Sushil proceeded to drag the body to a restaurant where he chopped the body into small pieces and put it in a Tandoor (clay oven) to burn.
On 7 November, 2003, Sushil Sharma was arrested by the police and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Ishrat Jahan case
Date of incident: 15 June, 2004
The Ishrat Jahan case took place on 15 June, 2004 when a 19-year old girl - Ishrat Jahan, was killed in an encounter in Ahmedabad allegedly by a team of Crime Branch Officials.
The police alleged that Ishrat and her associates who belonged to Lashker-e-Taiba were planning to kill the Gujarat Chief Minister. However, there was huge outcry over the killing with the public and Ishrat's family denouncing the killing as a fake encounter.
The case is still going on in the state of Gujarat.
Jessica Lal murder case
Date of murder: 30 April, 1999.
A murder case that led to much outcry among the public of India and was the centre of intense media scrutiny, the case involved the murder of Jessica Lal at a crowded party by the Manu Sharma who was the son of a wealthy Congress nominated Member of Parliament.
The reason - Jessica refused to serve drinks to Manu Sharma and his friends. After the shocking murder that took place in front of many witnesses, the case came to a standstill as the witnesses turned hostile to the investigation.
Apart from the huge public anger over the treatment of the case and movies based on Jessica Lal, the murder was one of the most gruesome that India witnessed.
Priyadarshini Mattoo case
Date of murder: 23 January, 1996
Priyadarshini Mattoo, a law student was found raped and subsequently murdered at her house in New Delhi on 23 January, 1996. The main accused - Santosh Singh was awarded the death sentence which was later reduced to life imprisonment.
In a rare instance, the continued spotlight by the media on the case led to an accelerated trial which is normally not seen in the Indian court system.
Nitish Katara case
Date of murder: 17 February, 2002
Nitish Katara, a 24-year old businessman in Delhi was murdered on 17 February, 2002 by one Vikas Yadav for having a relationship with the sister of Vikas, Bharti Yadav.
It was reported that the Yadav family was strictly against the couple who had been going around for four years. Speculations were also rife that this murder was an instance of 'honour killing'.
Later, the court sentenced Vikas Yadav and his other accomplices in this crime to life imprisonment.
Neeraj Grover case
Date of murder: 7 May, 2008
The Neeraj Grover murder case had all the ingredients of a crime movie - love, anger, sex, jealousy and ultimately murder. The three protagonists in this case were - Neeraj Grover, a television executive based in Mumbai, Maria Susairaj, an aspiring actress and Lieutenant ML Jerome Mathew, with whom Maria was in a relationship.
It is said that an angry Jerome went to Maria's house in Mumbai after a telephone conversation the previous day when he heard a male voice in the background. Jerome entered to find a naked Neeraj following which the two had a heated conversation and Neeraj was murdered.
Jerome was sentenced to ten years in prison while Maria was given three years imprisonment. Later, a movie titled 'Not a love story' starring Mahie Gill and directed by Ram Gopal Verma was made which was based on this murder.
Nithari Killings
Dates of muders: Between 2005-2006
The Nithari killings, also known as the Noida serial murders were carried out by a businessman Moninder Singh Pandher in Nithari between 2005-2006.
The murders were horrific in nature because they involved brutality and even traces of cannibalism. Yound minor children were kidnapped and killed after being sexually assaulted by the duo. The land behind the house of the accused was dug up which resulted in a large number of skeletons being discovered.
His servant Surender Kohli was convicted of five murders and sentenced to death.
Shivani Bhatnagar
Date of murder: 23 January, 1999
The murder of Indian Express journalist - Shivani Bhatnagar on 23 January, 1999 became a huge scandal that disturbed the top corridors of Indian politics.
IPS officer Ravi Sharma was charged and arrested by the Delhi police for the murder along with three others, Bhagwan Sharma, Pradeep Sharma and Satya Prakash.
Later, Ravi Sharma confessed that he murdered Shivani because he was afraid that she would expose their relationship.
Madhumita Shukla
Date of murder: 9 May, 2003
On May 9, 2003, 24-year old budding poetess Madhumita Shukla, was gunned down at close range by two visitors in her two-room apartment in Lucknow's Paper Mill Colony.
The main accused - Amarmani Tripathi a politician from Uttar Pradesh (India) is presently undergoing a life term after being convicted for the murder apparently after she refused to abort her pregnancy caused by him.
Tripathi was arrested in September 2003 in connection with the murder. The post-mortem report of Madhumita revealed that she was carrying a foetus that matched the DNA of Amarmani, and he and his wife Madhumani Tripathi were sentenced to life imprisonment in October 2007.
Scarlett Keeling case
Date of murder: February 2008.
On February 2008, a 15-year old British girl, Scarlett Keeling was found murdered on one of the many pristince beaches of Goa. Later, reports stated that the girl had been raped before being murdered.
Post mortem reports state that the girl was drugged before being raped and murdered. Till date, no one has been convicted of the crime.
Rizwanur Rahman
Date of murder: 21 September, 2007
Little did Rizwanur Rahman know that his love for the daughter of industrialist Ashok Todi would result in his death. On 21 September, 2007, 30-year old Rizwanur Rahman was found lying on the railway tracks with a deep wound on the back of his head. The police dismissed the incident as suicide but there was a huge outcry from the public who dubbed the incident as murder.
The reasons were obvious - The Todis were angry that their daughter had married into a low class family and on top of that the groom was a Muslim.
It is also alleged that Rizwanur was called to the police station many times and threatened with dire consequences if he did not separate from Todi's daughter.
The case is currently being reinvestigated by the CBI.
Jyotirmoy Dey
Date of murder: 11 June, 2011
Jyotirmoy Dey, famously known as J Dey was an Indian journalist who was shot dead by motorcylce-borne sharpshooters on 11 June 2011.
The police believed the murder to be a professional job and which was related to his reporting on the oil mafia.
The case received a sensational twist when the Mumbai Crime Branch chargesheeted journalist Jigna Vora on 21 February, 2012 for her alleged role in the murder due to a professional rivalry.
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