Shilpi-Gautam Murder

Shilpi-Gautam murder is the infamous case of death of two individuals, Shilpi Jain and Gautam Singh, which shook the Bihar government of the time. ^{[1] [2]} The case was finally closed as double suicide, although many remain unconvinced with the investigation. ^{[3] [4] [5] [6] [7]} Shilpi was the daughter of Ujjwal Kumar Jain, a clothes store (Kamla Stores) owner and Gautam was the son of a London based doctor, B.N Singh. He was associated with the youth wing of Rashtriya Janata Dal. ^{[8] [3]} The two were believed to be in a relationship. ^[9]

Discovery of bodies

On 3 July 1999 two bodies of a boy and a girl were discovered in a semi nude state inside a car in a parking near quarter number 12, Frazer Road, Patna. This quarter belonged to Sadhu Yadav, the brother-in-law of Lalu Prasad Yadav and a Member Of Legislative Assembly for the ruling party RJD.The bodies were identified as Shilpi and Gautam. ^{[3] [9]} Both of them were missing since 2 July 1999.^{[ citation needed ]}

Police investigation

The police investigation and handling in this case came under serious questioning. Even before the police could secure the crime scene, the supporters of the MLA reached the scene and created a lot of ruckus. Even the vehicle was driven to the police station by a constable instead of being towed, which rendered getting any fingerprint information from the steering wheel impossible. Police initially declared this a case of suicide even before the Viscera report. Then later they reported possibility of poisoning. The body of Gautam was cremated in a hurry without taking permission from his family members. Another inconsistency found in the police report was that the garage was locked from inside and the key was missing, so the person who called police must have been aware of the bodies. ^{[3] [8]}

CBI investigation

Six days after the discovery of bodies, Shilpi's family came forward and claimed it was a murder and not suicide. There was also huge political uproar over the case due to involvement of political personalities. All this combined with the botched up investigation done by police till then, the state government was forced to hand over the case to Central Bureau of Investigation. The CBI sent off the vaginal fluid of Shilpi for DNA testing in Hyderabad. The test report suggested that multiple people had raped Shilpi before her death. The CBI asked for the DNA sample of a MLA, who refused to provide the sample. It is believed that the MLA who refused was Sadhu Yadav. Four years later, CBI close the case. In its report submitted to the court, CBI declared it to be a case of suicide. ^{[4] [6] [10] [11] [12]}

Although the parents of Shilpi rejected the CBI report and still feel it to be a case of Murder and want a fresh investigation to be done. ^[13] Recently Prashant Jain, the brother of Shilpi Jain was kidnapped from outside his home and later freed. ^{[14] [15]}

References

1. "Bihar netas flirt with 'sex aur dhoka'". 5 January 2011. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
2. "Shilpi soul denied peace as CBI sits on case file". The Times of India. 29 May 2003. Archived from the original on 29 August 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
3. "जब पटना के एक गराज में मिली दो लाशें और हिल गई थी बिहार की सरकार". Jansatta (in Hindi). Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
4. "MLA की गाड़ी से मिली थी दो लाशें, Semen को बताया गया था पसीना! आत्महत्या या मर्डर?". Zee News (in Hindi). Archived from the original on 27 April 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
5. सिंह, अरुण (13 February 2022). "जंगल राज का वो क्राइम, जिसे बिहार नहीं भूला". Navbharat Gold (in Hindi). Retrieved 27 April 2022.
6. "The Memory of Rape". Open The Magazine. 10 January 2013. Archived from the original on 1 July 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
7. "SUICIDE PACT ROCKS PATNA". www.telegraphindia.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
8. "Shilpi-Gautam Murder Case". INDIAN CRIMINAL SCANDALS. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
9. "Bihar netas flirt with 'sex aur dhoka'". Deccan Herald. 5 January 2011. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
10. "Lalu Prasad Yadav led Bihar to its darkest days, the journalists supporting him don't seem to remember that". MyIndMakers. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
11. "Women soft target of flamboyant politicians - Shwetnisha, Shilpi and many other victims keep alive accusations against leaders from their graves". www.telegraphindia.com. Archived from the original on 27 April 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
12. "सेक्स, क्राइम और सीबीआई: बिहार की राजनीति को हिला देने वाले हत्याकांड • Marginalised". 19 August 2018. Archived from the original on 19 August 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
13. Sanjay K. Ojha (7 August 2003). "Shilpi's kin reject CBI report | Patna News - Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 27 April 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
14. "Shilpi Jain's brother kidnapped | Patna News - Times of India". The Times of India. TNN. 6 January 2006. Archived from the original on 27 April 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
15. "Prashant Jain freed by abductors". www.rediff.com. Archived from the original on 27 April 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.