A massive scam took lives too.
By Sreejith Vallikunnu
A scam of massive proportions, a murder of an artist and a lawyer and two liberal writers were among the crime stories that created headlines in India, in 2015.
Here are five incidents that stood out among other crimes:
Vyapam killings
A series of killings in connection with the Vyapam scam in BJP ruled Madhya Pradesh shook the country in 2015. The massive multi-layered scam claimed the lives of 25 whistle-blowers, accused and witnesses. Unofficial reports put the toll at 41. Most of them died under mysterious circumstances.
Many people, including Journalists, who inquired about the scam got death threats. Several approached courts to seek protection, saying the scam involved powerful political leaders and police officials who wanted witnesses silenced.
The Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) is popularly known by its Hindi acronym “Vyapam” (Vyavsayik Pariksha Mandal). It’s a self-financed and autonomous body incorporated by the State government responsible for conducting entrance tests in the state.
They conduct entrance exams for recruitment in government jobs and admissions in educational institutes of the state.
The scam involved a conspiracy of undeserving candidates, who bribed politicians and Vyapam officials through middlemen, to get high ranks in these entrance tests. By 2015, more than 2,000 people had been arrested in connection with the scam.
Political figures and BJP leaders, including Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, were alleged to be part of the scam.
Murders of Kalburgi and Pansare
The murder of MM Kalburgi, a renowned Kannada scholar and former vice-chancellor of Hampi University had stirred a nationwide debate in India.
Malleshappa Madivalappa Kalburgi, 76, was shot dead by two unidentified assailants at his residence in Dharwad in north Karnataka on August 30.
Two youths, who claimed to be students, sought to meet him and later shot him dead at around 8.40 am and managed to escape.
Kalburgi had stirred controversy through his speeches and research articles. His Lingayat community leaders and seers and also Hindutva fundamentalists had expressed anger over his views.
Govind Pansare, a left-wing politician and author, was shot on February 16, by assailants in Kolhapur in Maharashtra.
Pansare and his wife had been out on a morning walk when they were shot at near their home in Kolhapur by men on a bike. He died four days later, after being flown to Mumbai for treatment.
All through his life, Pansare had criticized the conservative sections, the Hindutva forces in particular.
Social activists and eminent writers blamed RSS and other right-wing organizations for both the killings.
Kerala Hummer case
K Chandrabose, a security guard at Sobha City in Kerala’s Thrissur district, who had been seriously injured after a controversial businessman Mohammed Nisham hit him with Hummer SUV, died in February.
The 47-year-old had undergone multiple surgeries over two weeks in an effort to improve his condition, but passed away at Amala Medical College in Thrissur.
Muhammed Nisham, an infamous and controversial tycoon who made his fortune pushing cheap “bidi” cigarettes, was arrested on January 29 after ramming his Hummer into Chandrabose, pinning him against a wall, and later beating him with an iron rod after the security guard could not open a gate quickly enough.
The high-rolling business magnate has staved off 10 separate criminal cases in the past — including, but not limited to — allowing his nine-year-old son to drive a Ferrari through a crowded neighborhood, harassing several female law enforcement officers, and domestic abuse charges filed by his wife.
The case is still under trial. Nisham will face the full penalty for murder if convicted.
Mumbai double murder
Mumbai-based artist Hema Upadhyay and her lawyer Harish Bhambhani were brutally killed on December 12. Their bodies were recovered from a drain in Kandivali area of Mumbai, stuffed inside two cartons.
The police couldn’t recover any evidence to prove the identity of those semi-naked bodies but a truck driver, who took the cartons from a warehouse and dumped it in the drain, oblivious of what was inside it, later gave the tip-off to the police.
Mumbai Police had arrested five persons, including Hema Upadhyay’s ex-husband and artist Chintan Upadhyay in connection with the case. The others who were arrested were Azad Rajbhar, Pradeep Rajbhar, Vijay Rajbhar and Shivkumar Rajbhar alias Sadhu and charged them for murder and causing the disappearance of evidence.
According to the police, Shivkumar Rajbhar, alias Sadhu, murdered photography and sculptural installations specialist Hema Upadhyay and her lawyer Harish Bhambhani in Mumbai and disposed of their bodies in cartons.
Three techies killed in four days in Bihar
Three engineers were killed in Bihar in four days in December. The first two killings happened on December 26.
Two engineers of a road construction company namely Brajesh Kumar and Mukesh Kumar were shot dead by unidentified men at 11.30am near village Shivram in Benipur subdivision of Darbhanga district.
Both of them died apparently after they refused to pay the diktat of a criminal gang for protection money.
Four days later another engineer named Ankit Jha (42) was found murdered in Bihar’s Vaishali district.
The bodies of Ankit Jha (42), with multiple injury marks, was spotted by locals in an orchard in Kashipur village within Rajapakar police station limits.