Murder Scrapbook

Woman murdered in city apartment

October 9, 2013. A woman was found murdered at the posh Lakeview apartment. An elderly citizen out for a morning walk at 5 am stumbled upon the body lying in the courtyard. He reported it to the security guards. After inspecting the scene, they contacted the police…

Brutal murder shocks Vattupuram

October 10, 2013. The brutal murder at Lakeview apartment has shocked the city. A senior police officer, who wishes to remain unnamed, has revealed that the identity of the woman remains unknown. He divulged the following details. The victim’s face is disfigured beyond recognition. The body hit the courtyard head-first. The courtyard is shared by apartment blocks D and E. The victim was thrown from a balcony overlooking the same courtyard. The body has multiple stab wounds, burn marks and other bestial injuries. The victim was tortured for many hours before death. The woman was alive but unconscious when thrown from the balcony. The post-mortem has been delayed due to some unspecified technical problems at the mortuary…

Murder of widow, homemaker and mother of two

October 10, 2013. A reliable source has revealed that the woman was a widow, homemaker and mother of two. The Lakeview residents’ association has collected clothes and money for the orphans. The president of the association announced this in front of the District Court. He also said that they would fight for justice. The association has been fighting an eviction order from the government. The Lakeview apartment complex stands on land reclaimed without proper environmental clearance after draining and filling the once-scenic Vattupuram Lake…

Chaos and ruckus at police station

October 11, 2013. Several organizations representing mothers, orphans, victims of sexual assault, unknown women, senior citizens and minorities employed in security agencies gathered at the police station to protest against the shoddy and tightlipped murder investigation. Superintendent of Police A. Kumar met the protesters to pacify them. He further enraged the gathering by stating that senior citizens and security guards had left the murder scene ‘well-trampled’. It was later learned that SMS’s and messages trending in social media had simultaneously reported that police were bringing in the murderers. The SP left the scene quickly after ordering his officers to show minor or little restraint. The highly-provoked peaceful gathering was lathi-charged viciously when they confronted police personnel bringing in a group of anti-social elements…

Police press conference reveals little

October 11, 2013. At a press conference, the police admitted that they are clueless about the identity of the murdered woman named Mritya by social media. The Senior SP B. Kumar who has taken over the investigation is following various lines of enquiry...

Security in apartments found lacking

October 12, 2013. The director of the Center for Social Studies, in an exclusive interview to this newspaper, revealed that her institute had presented a detailed study to the government six months before the gruesome murder of Mritya about the inadequate security arrangements in local communities, especially apartment complexes. Based on a survey conducted at various parts of the city, this study has found that there is only one security guard for every 2500 residents, and that the majority of these guards are above 50 years of age, sick or alcoholic, and unarmed. On the night of Mritya’s murder, there were only three security guards in the entire Lakeview apartment complex. Two have admitted to the police that they had ‘slept since it was a quiet night’. The third security guard has been absconding since the night of the murder…

CM promises full investigation

October 13, 2013. Under pressure from the media and various citizens’ groups, the Chief Minister appointed a Special Investigation Team to look into the Mritya murder case. The team will be headed by SP A. Kumar who used to be in charge of the investigation. Several students’ organizations and trade unions claiming that the CM seemed ‘insincere’ staged a protest march and clashed with police. The CM then set up a Committee chaired by the Chief Secretary and consisting of three retired judges to review the progress of the case. They will recommend if and when the case should be handed over to the CBI…

Breakthrough in Mritya murder case

October 14, 2013. The SIT has reported a major breakthrough in the Mritya murder case that has shocked Vattupuram. Sources in the police reveal that four youth are being questioned at an undisclosed location. The investigating officers seem to be guarding the identities of the suspects…

Breaking news: politicians’ sons are suspects in murder case

October 15, 2013. The SIT is questioning four youth who are sons of politicians and prominent businessmen in connection with the Mritya murder case. This newspaper was the first in suspecting that the suspects had high connections…

Politicians and businessmen involved in murder case

October 15, 2013. The four suspects in the Mritya murder case are sons of a Minister, a MLA of the main Opposition party, a liquor baron and a ‘blade’ financier…

Liquor, unruly parties and all-night orgies

October 15, 2013. The main suspect in the Mritya murder case is the son of a Minister. A resident, on condition of anonymity, has revealed that the Minister owns an apartment in D-block of the Lakeview apartments. The minister’s son and his friends frequently party there, at times even thrice a week. Complaints lodged with the residents’ association fell on deaf ears. The resident recalls with horror an incident that occurred just two weeks before the night Mritya was killed. Couple of residents had got together to protest about the all-night liquor parties and orgies. The minister’s son and his friends had roughed up the residents that night and later on more than one occasion threatened more severe action…

CM and Opposition accused of shielding culprits

October 16, 2013. The city witnessed several protest marches by various organizations. There were skirmishes between the protesters and groups associated with the main political parties. The police chose to remain as mere spectators, or when engaged, seemed to support political groups in suppressing public protests. The People for Mritya Group accused the Chief Minister and main political parties of shielding the culprits…

SIT arrests infamous four

October 17, 2013. In a surprising development late last night, the police arrested the four youth suspected of brutally murdering Mritya. They were released immediately when their lawyer presented an anticipatory bail order. They continued to party with their parents at the residence of the liquor baron…

Victim a loose character, says lawyer

October 17, 2013. The lawyer representing the four youth arrested in the Mritya murder case told media personnel that the post-mortem results had shown that the victim was a ‘loose character’…

Public protests against vilification of victim

October 17, 2013. There were sporadic incidents of violence in the city. Public outraged by the blackening of the victim’s character surrounded the residence of the defense lawyer in the Mritya murder case. The protestors attacked his car and threw black paint at the lawyer’s car. The lawyer was admitted to a nearby clinic, complaining of chest pain. He claims that he was ‘misquoted’ and that he had described the victim as a ‘lost character’. When asked how the post-mortem revealed that, the lawyer refused to comment…

Minister comes clean on murder case

October 17, 2013. The Minister, whose son is an accused in the Mritya murder case, in an exclusive interview with this newspaper’s editor admits that his son is ‘young and little wild like I am (sic)’ and that ‘his friends not he like to party’.  The Minister also divulged that ‘the kids play music late night’, ‘sex suggesting music neighbors misunderstand as aaru jee (sic)’. The Minister claims ‘my son little boy like a virgin like I am (sic)’…

Right takes on left and center

October 18, 2013. The official magazine of the right-wing political party accused the main left-leaning and center-balancing political parties of joining forces in hoodwinking the public and murdering innocent women. The article claims that the two leading fronts had left a ‘moral vacuum’ after decades of misrule. Following the publication of this article, several offices of the right-wing party were attacked by unknown assailants. The office of a magazine with a similar name was also attacked…

Hartal in city

October 19, 2013. The state today observed a peaceful hartal from dawn till disk. Several transport buses and buildings were destroyed. Tourists were spared but office-goers were chased home. Political parties of the right, left and center had called the hartal for various reasons. The Chief Minister announced that the State Exchequer had lost ‘hundreds of crores of rupees’. He has requested the Center for special status for the state and requested the PM to release relief fund to compensate daily-wage workers affected by frequent hartals…

Two migrant workers held for questioning

October 20, 2013. In a surprising but expected move, the police today took two migrant workers into custody in connection with the Mritya murder case…

Sporadic violence in various parts of the city

October 21, 2013. Following the arrest of two migrant workers, the city witnessed several incidents of mild violence. A mother chased her drunkard husband through the streets. She was followed by a group of migrant workers who was chased by locals. The police followed the various groups and tried to maintain law and order…

Fall guys for the fallen

October 22, 2013. The State Human Rights Commission, relying on the editorial and investigation of this newspaper, today castigated the Government for not doing enough for the migrant workers in the State apart from blaming them for all crimes. They expressed strong displeasure about the State machinery heaping only abuse and no praise on the tired heads of the hardworking lot. The Commissioner suggested that the government should follow the example of Texas in utilizing illegal migrants for low-end manual labor and freeing locals for intellectual pursuits. When this newspaper contacted the Home Minister for a response, he refused to comment apart from asking, ‘Who is Texas to teach us?’…

Accused commits suicide

October 23, 2013. A migrant worker was found dead in a pond near an abandoned quarry. The police are treating it as suicide. This migrant worker was recently questioned by the police in connection with the Mritya murder case and later released following an enquiry by the Human Rights Commission…

Brutal assault or swimming accident

October 23, 2013. Police claim that the post-mortem revealed that the migrant worker had died due to drowning in the pond. Locals familiar with the quarry say that only the dead can drown in the few feet of water in the pond. One of the locals who discovered the body revealed that the body had ‘terrible wounds below’...

Actor and director’s wife on CCTV near murder scene

October 24, 2013. In a surprising turn of events, a video that has gone viral on the internet shows a popular actor and an aspiring film-director’s wife in close embrace near the Mritya murder scene on the night of the murder. Police are trying to trace the source of the video. They admit that it was from CCTV footage in the Lakeview apartment complex. When probed why the police had not investigated the same CCTV footage, they refused to comment. Meanwhile, the popular actor told the media at his residence that he was in Dubai on that date. The film-director or his wife did not answer our many phone-calls or e-mails…

Friendly visit or swapping party

October 24, 2013. In a late-night chat show, the popular actor involved in the Mritya murder case changed his earlier statement. He said that he had been in Dubai and came to the city for the housewarming ceremony at the director’s house. His new statement did not throw any light on why he was kissing the director’s wife late at night when the housewarming ceremony was in the morning. The actor also said that he would be suing a British tabloid for suggesting that he had come for a wife-swapping party rather than a housewarming ceremony…

Upper-class prostitution racket busted

October 25, 2013. The police conducted surprise raids at various clubs and hotels in the city. In a hastily called press conference late last night, the police claimed that they had busted an upper-class prostitution racket. They refused to link this with the recent developments in the Mritya murder case…

Man claims to be husband of murdered woman

October 27, 2013. A man claiming to be the husband of Mritya today reported at the office of the Commissioner of Police. Two orphans in a city poor home were taken to the office of the Commissioner of Police. The man who claims to be Mritya’s husband also claims to be the father of these two kids. Various social groups extended their support to the bereaved lot…

Man and kids leave police red-faced

October 28, 2013. The man and kids who claimed to be Mritya’s kin disappeared from the Commissioner’s office with the numerous gifts in cash and kind, including the Commissioner’s wallet. It was later revealed that the three who left the police red-faced is part of an inter-state conning gang…

Cover-ups, bungled investigation and delayed justice

October 29, 2013. The city witnessed various protests by political and social organizations protesting against the mishandling of the Mritya murder case by the police. The leader of the Opposition told a large gathering that the Chief Minister and the Home Minister should accept moral responsibility for the failure to solve the case and resign immediately…

Media lauded for service to society

October 30, 2013. The Chief Minister heaped praise on the media for reporting the Mritya murder case accurately. Awards were distributed at a grand ceremony. This newspaper received three out of the five awards. There was a brief skirmish at the award ceremony between media personnel. A disgruntled group of journalists shouted slogans that the government was trying to bribe the media into silence…

Police admit, we are clueless

October 30, 2013. At a press conference, the Commissioner admitted that the police are clueless about the Mritya murder case. He also stated that he is going on a brief pilgrimage to pray for new leads…

Honest policeman removed from case

October 31, 2013. The lead investigator of the SIT has been removed from the Mritya case. There have been rumors about this sacrifice ever since this honest policeman arrested the son of a Minister in connection with the murder case…

Witnesses allege harassment

November 2, 2013. In an exclusive interview to this newspaper, witnesses in the Mritya case report that they have been harassed by the police and various groups with vested interests to change their statements against various suspects…

Headless police makes bottomless case

November 2, 2013. The police refused to comment on the alleged harassment of witnesses in the Mritya murder case. Our repeated attempts to discover the new head of the investigation team met with no response…

Police claim major breakthrough in Mritya case

November 14, 2013. The police finally had to depend on a rag-picker to find what they claim to be crucial evidence in cracking a case that was nearly buried and forgotten. They are not divulging any details…

Garbage a mixed blessing, minister lauded

November 15, 2013. The Chief Minister announced a reward to the rag-picker who found the latest piece of evidence about which the police remains tightlipped. A well-placed source in the police divulged that the evidence was discovered in the garbage heap that had been piling up around the Lakeview Apartments. Our investigative journalists discovered that the incinerator within the apartment complex has not been functioning well for the last six months and that the housing society has been frequently dumping most of their waste in the open area around the apartment complex. At a public function in the city felicitating the Urban Development Minister for not doing anything about a garbage treatment plant for more than two years, the Minister said that ‘garbage is a mixed blessing’ and urged the people of the city to understand…

Police reveal bloodied underwear

November 16, 2013. At a press conference, the reinstated head of SIT revealed that they had recovered underwear believed to be that of Mritya with the help of a rag-picker. He also said that the police are confident about getting more information from this piece of evidence even though it has been under a mound of garbage for more than a month. He explained to the gathering of press personnel that the evidence was found in a plastic disposal bag and the killers had made the mistake of discarding torn bills and envelopes with their name in the same bag. The editor of this newspaper asked the head of SIT if those items could be connected. The editor pointed out that citizens of the city usually try to camouflage their own garbage and dump their junk along with another’s in a neighbor’s or stranger’s garbage bag. The policeman refused to reply to the question and asked the media not to hinder their investigations with useless speculation…

Errata in ‘Police reveal bloodied underwear’

November 17, 2013. The Editorial board and management of this newspaper would like to point out to its kind and loyal readers that the editor did not raise any question to the head of SIT which the latter could not reply. Yesterday’s issue erroneously mentioned otherwise…

Water shortage contaminates crucial evidence at forensic lab

November 18, 2013. In a setback to the investigation of the Mritya murder case, the crucial evidence was further contaminated in the forensic lab due to an acute water shortage that has crippled the city since yesterday as a result of multiple pipe-bursts. Several students’ groups affiliated to the main opposition political parties staged a dharna in front of the forensic lab and demanded a thorough investigation. They also attacked the Director’s car and punctured all tires. The State Forensic and Mortuary Workers union has called an indefinite strike to protest. Common people eager to bury or cremate their dead without prolonged decay submitted a petition to the Chief Minister. The Chief Minister’s office released a press notice stating that the committee of retired judges chaired by the Chief Secretary reviewing the progress of the Mritya case will also investigate whether the multiple pipe-bursts and contamination of evidence at the forensic lab is an act of sabotage…

Arrest imminent, police confident

November 21, 2013. Despite the recent setbacks, the police expressed their confidence in bringing the Mritya murder case to its rightful conclusion and that an arrest is imminent. The head of SIT refused to reveal further details other than to smugly say that they are ‘tying up loose ends’…

Childless couple taken into custody

November 22, 2013. In a late-night development, the police arrested a childless couple at the city railway station. The police confirmed to our journalist who witnessed the police operation that they are residents of Lakeview Apartments and that the couple were trying to escape from the city following last night’s announcement of an imminent arrest. In an exclusive video coverage of the operation, the couple appears to be in shock. They protest their innocence and claim to be on their way to Madurai to pray for a child…

City shocked

November 23, 2013. The city has been shocked by the recent developments in the Mritya murder case. There were sporadic incidents of violence and outrage. Several religious and social organizations have opened up counseling centers to help citizens come to terms with the crime. An apolitical middle-class housewife summed up the shock succinctly, ‘It is someone like us.’

City claims Number 1 serial couple

November 24, 2013.  Just a day after the shock, the city has shown amazing resilience, grit and determination to embrace its new-found horrific status. The police have been examining the couple’s apartment in Block E of Lakeview Apartments. The head of SIT told the press that they have discovered a diary with detailed description of various locations in the city. The police have linked these locations with a series of unsolved murders that occurred in the city in the last few years. There was a minor altercation when the editor of this newspaper asked the policeman whether any set of locations in the city could not be linked to unsolved murders…

Television shows and magazines line up in jail

November 25, 2013.  The media and the public have been gathering in large numbers around jails and police stations rumored to be the place of incarceration of the serial killers. Traffic police personnel have been relocated to these centers leaving the rest of the city in a state of chaos. Jail authorities have suspended their sale of prison-made chapathi and chilly chicken to concentrate on the security at the various jails. This has inconvenienced and irked their many customers at Government hospitals and offices…

Mother of all reality shows

November 25, 2013.  A TV channel has started a show that claims to be the mother of all reality shows. They have gathered friends and relatives of the serial-killer couple and locked them in a house with a large number of people from various strata of society. The producer of the show has announced a huge reward to the participants if a murder or serious injury does not occur…

Couple refuses to take lie-detector test

November 26, 2013.  In an unsurprising development, the couple refused to take the polygraph and narco-analysis tests. The couple claims that their religious faith does not allow such man-made measures to decide their innocence or guilt…

Tourists throng for scenic murder walking tour

November 30, 2013.  The tourist season in the city has started with a bang with foreigners and visitors from all over the country wanting to revisit the various murder sites of the city. The Minister of Tourism today announced deluxe and ultra-deluxe walking-tours include a scenic journey, sumptuous meals and juicy recreation of gruesome murders…

Sexual depravity

December 3, 2013.  The Literature Festival opened in the city today. Leading writers, poets and thinkers lamented about the sexual depravity amongst the middle-classes and stressed that their future work should focus on such issues. At one of the functions, a prize-winning writer was accused of sexually assaulting a young waiter. Various protest groups are waiting to know the sexual identity of the writer and the waiter to launch appropriate protests and denials…

Court orders polygraph

December 5, 2013.  A trial court today ordered the couple to take the polygraph test…

Insinuations of cover-up denounced

December 7, 2013.  The Editor of this paper has been removed from the post with immediate effect. In a recent editorial, he had reduced the horrific Mritya murder case to a major cover-up and on various occasions, raised unnecessary doubts about the conclusions of the SIT team investigating the murder. The Code of Ethics of this paper does not allow such subjective presentation of sensitive and polarizing issues…

Couple have alibi

December 10, 2013.  The defense lawyer appearing for the accused couple today told the media that his clients are scapegoats and that they have an alibi to prove that they could not have committed the murder of Mritya. When contacted, the head of the SIT retorted that ‘only murderers have alibi’. He later retracted that statement claiming that he could be misunderstood…

Couple passes test, police fail

December 12, 2013.  The police submitted the confidential report of the polygraph and narco-analysis tests to the court. The media were informed of the contents of the report almost simultaneously through SMS’s from an undisclosed mobile phone. Police are investigating the source of the leak. The clearly sore informant has earned the sobriquet Sore Throat. The report gives a clean chit to the serial killer couple. They passed all the tests without reasonable doubt. A Cabinet minister and a prominent politician of the Opposition noted together that ‘the police should have tried harder with the lies and tests’…

Couple released, security for judge

December 14, 2013.  The alleged serial killers were released from custody at an unnamed location today. The judge noted that the prosecution had not presented the case in a convincing manner. The judge had harsh words for the police pointing out the contamination of key evidence and lack of application with their inability to place even one fingerprint of the victim at the residence of the alleged killers or even the fingerprints of the killers on their own diary. The court premises witnessed sporadic incidents of violence. Several members of the Bar association and notorious criminals present at the location joined hands in stoning the judge’s chambers. The Home Minister has ordered the police to give only adequate security to the judge who failed to understand the feelings of the masses...

Truth prevailed, lawyer lies

December 15, 2013.  The defense lawyer who represented the alleged serial killers was chased by a mob when he needlessly provoked them with his words ‘truth prevailed’…

Mob attacks couple, police mute spectators

December 17, 2013.  In a surprising turn of events, the media were informed of the location of the alleged serial killers by the informant known as Sore Throat. The couple was brutally attacked by a large mob enraged by faithful news reports. The media once again proved that they and only they can give the masses the justice they desire. Battalions of police and Central security forces were rushed to the location but they refused to act against their own till the couple seemed soundly thrashed…

Chief Minister says that he is with the people

December 18, 2013.  The Chief Minister at a special session of the Assembly voiced the collective conscience of the society. He along with the leader of the Opposition released a joint statement stating that ‘they are with the people’ and if required, ‘they are ready to stand up against the judiciary which fails to understand the needs of the times’…

Husband in coma, wife puts full stop

December 21, 2013.  The alleged serial killers involved in the Mritya murder case remain in a critical condition. The husband continues to be in coma while the wife regained consciousness briefly. She confessed to the police about the couple’s many murders. The police told the media that she had begged for forgiveness and closure…

Woman succumbs to injuries, husband rises from the grave to reject wife’s words

December 25, 2013.  Christmas this year witnessed another surprising turn of events in the Mritya murder case. Today, one of the alleged killers succumbed to her injuries. While the wife passed to hell, the husband rose from coma with renewed vigor. The police claim that he rejected his wife’s confession belligerently and still claimed to be innocent…

Serial killer dies, hospital and police claim it is natural

December 26, 2013.  In a fitting twist to the Mritya murder case, the surviving serial killer died in hospital. The attending doctors claim that he had shown remarkable vital signs just an hour earlier when he claimed to be innocent. The hospital authorities and the police later confirmed to the media that the man had died of a perfectly natural cardiac arrest…

Public healthcare or public slaughterhouse

December 28, 2013.  A journalist who was removed from the Editorial post of this paper today invited trouble by posting a personal blog in which he asks if the government is running public healthcare or a public slaughterhouse. A prominent intellectual in the city questioned the wisdom of the journalist and implored the government to arrest the journalist for sedition or at least for being a public nuisance…

Mritya cremated, ministers and MLAs clash

December 30, 2013.  The body of the woman known as Mritya was today released to be cremated with full State honors. Ministers and MLAs clashed amiably at the crematorium for prime positions during photo-sessions…

Who is Mritya?

December 31, 2013.  Today, a foreign tabloid carried an article on the Mritya murder case. It is written by the journalist who is in hiding since he wrote a recent inflammatory blog. Though there is nothing new in the article, the journalist raises three questions which should trouble us as we welcome the New Year. One, who was Mritya? Two, was the real killer caught? Three, why did Sore Throat facilitate the extermination of the couple accused of the crime?