Shehla Masood murder case: Four convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment
Among the four accused who have been sentenced for life are Zahida Parvej, Shakib Danger who brought the contract killer from Kanpur and arranged for logistics in Bhopal and Tabish who pulled the trigger.
In Short
- Accused in the Shehla Masood murder case have been convicted and sentenced for life in jail.
- Shehla Masood was shot dead at point blank range outside her house in Bhopal.
- CBI took over the investigation of the case after 18 days of the murder.
Four of the five accused in the sensational Shehla Masood murder case of Bhopal have been convicted and sentenced to life in jail while the fifth accused who turned approver during the trial has been granted pardon. Announcing the judgement in a packed court room in Indore, special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) judge BL Paloda held the four guilty of murder as relatives of the accused broke down.
Among the four accused who have been sentenced for life are Zahida Parvej, the interior designer who gave the contract to kill Shehla, Shakib Danger who brought the contract killer from Kanpur and arranged for logistics in Bhopal and Tabish, who pulled the trigger.
Irfan who accompanied Tabish on the bike to the murder spot turned approver during the trial and was pardoned by the court while Saba Faroqui who assisted the killers in the murder conspiracy was also been convicted of murder under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sentenced to life in prison.
- Shehla Masood an RTI activists and Anna Hazare supporter was shot dead at point blank range outside her house in the Kohe Fiza area of Bhopal just after she stepped in to her car to leave for a protest demonstration organized in support of the India Against Corruption campaign on August 16, 2011.
- The Bhopal Police started initial investigations and tried to give it a suicide twist even though no weapon was recovered from the spot. The role of the police came under suspicion as theories like honour killing started floating in the local press from anonymous sources.
- Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh announced a CBI probe after names of top BJP leaders started floating as possible suspects.
- CBI took over the investigation 18 days after the murder just as the sensational murder became a national talking point.
- Top investigators including Joint Director Keshav Kumar and DIG Arun Bothra were asked to supervise the investigations of the case in October 2011 after the CBI investigator in Bhopal could not make any headway.
- CBI made the first arrest on February 28, 2011. Shakib Danger was tracked through his mobile location and his associates were traced to Kanpur.
- Shakib led the investigators to Zahida Parvez alleging she had given the contract to kill Shehla as she suspected her of having an affair with her husband. Shakib misled the investigators for two weeks before the final story was out with the arrest of Irfan who spilled the beans in Uttar Pradesh. The role of Tabish too was soon after.
- The trial went on for four years and 11 months and finally the four main accused were convicted and sentenced to life in prison on January 28, 2017.
Also read: The inside story of Shehla Masood's murder
Also read: Love & Murder in Bhopal