INDIA. SWAMI SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDERING WIFE

09 July 2005 :

Swami Shraddhananda was sentenced to death by a court in Bangalore, India, for murdering his wife Shakereh by burying her alive.
Pronouncing the verdict in the sensational case, Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge B S Totad wrote in his judgment: "He shall be hanged by his neck till death".
As the sentence was delivered in a packed court hall, Shakereh's daughter Sabah broke down and was seen resting her head on the shoulder of her husband Bakhache.
"It's not a compensation (the judgement); I can't get my mother back", Sabah, a former model, told reporters, overcome with emotions. "We were aiming for this (death sentence). We were blessed that victory was on our side".
A composed Shraddhananda alias Murli Manohar Mishra, remained unmoved and showed no emotions as the sentence was pronounced.
Shraddhananda's counsel said the judgment would be challenged in High Court.
Shraddhananda had been charged with murdering his wife, who was the grand-daughter of the former `Diwan' of Mysore state, Mirza Ismail, and ex-wife of Akbar Khaleeli, a former Indian High Commissioner to Australia.
It was alleged that Shakereh had resented his move to sell off her mansion in Bangalore, and then he drugged her and buried her alive under the porch of their bungalow in 1991.
 

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