Most Shocking Crimes: A horrifying incident that occurred in the national capital in 1996 shook the entire nation and exposed the faults in our criminal justice system. Priyadarshini Mattoo, a law student in Delhi University, was brutally murdered by Santosh Kumar Singh, who was her senior. A tale of one-sided love and rejection took the ugliest possible turn, which saw public outrage due to a faulty police investigation that delayed justice.
After completing her schooling in Jammu, Priyadarshini Mattoo pursued a bachelor’s degree in Jammu. Her passion for law led her to Delhi University, where she began her journey to become a lawyer.
Little did Priyadarshini know what was waiting for her. It all began when Santosh started chasing her, fuelled by an infatuation. He repeatedly expressed his affection and proposed to her several times. She had turned down his proposals each and every time. Santosh’s father was an IPS officer posted in Kashmir at the time and was soon going to be transferred to Delhi.
Priyadarshini Reports Santosh's Actions And Seeks Police Help
After Santosh’s obsession started to increase with time, Priyadarshini logged a complaint to the police, seeking help and protection from him. Things started to get worse when Santosh kept chasing her even after completing college. He used to roam around the college premises.
“Priyadarshini always had a doubt about him, the reason was that when she was in college, Santosh Singh was her senior and for a period of two years he was stalking her. He used to haress her and follow her wherever she was walking on the road. He also used to write letters to her and call and disturb her. Priyadarshini went to the police and complained about Santosh. Initially, the police ignored her complaints, saying that they are boys and these things happen; it's normal, and there is nothing serious about it,” Priyadarshini’s friend Indu Jalali was quoted as saying in a Times Now report.
She added: “One day when Priyadarshini was coming back from college, Santosh was following her on his bike, and he stopped his bike in front of Priyadarshini. He started pulling her. He tried to pull her hand away and take her along with him. Amid all this, Priyadarshini started shouting on the road and later went straight went to the police and see her courage that she again lodged a complaint against Santosh. This time the police officer took the matter seriously, and Priya was given a bodyguard constable, Rajinder Singh, for protection.”
After the complaints, Santosh was warned and asked to stay away from Priyadarshini. The next thing he did was lodge a complaint against her, saying she was pursuing two degrees simultaneously. Priyadarshini had to submit proof that she was studying only law after completing her previous degrees, as reported by Amar Ujala.
Priyadarshini’s Death
January 23, 1996, was the day Delhi saw a crime that sent shockwaves across the nation. According to media reports, Priyadarshini's bodyguard, Constable Rajinder Singh, reported late on duty, and she had to leave for college with her parents. The driver first dropped her parents at Tis Hazari court and then dropped her at the college. Later, the bodyguard went straight to the college, where he saw Santosh. It was 11.15 am, and Priyadarshini was in her class, as per the Amar Ujala report cited above.
After finishing the class, she came back to her Vasant Kunj home with the bodyguard, who she asked to come back at 5:30 pm. Around 5 pm, the family cook reportedly went out to take their dog for a walk. With no one around, Santosh entered the house. A neighbour saw him. Santosh had a black helmet in his hand, he would tell the court later, as per the Amar Ujala report.
When Constable Rajinder Singh reached Priyadarshini's house at 5.30 pm and rang the doorbell, he found no response. After waiting for some time, he went inside the house through the back door that he found open. Once inside, he saw Priyadarshini lying under the bed in the room. There was blood all around.
The Delhi Police reached the spot and found that Priya had been strangulated with a heater wire, media reports from the time said, adding that pieces of broken glass and some hair samples were found near Priyadarshini's body. In their statement, her parents named Santosh. Priyadarshini's mother Rageshwari told the investigators how Santosh had been harassing her daughter. He was subsequently called for questioning.
Investigation And Evidence Tampering
Singh was arrested on January 24, a day after Priyadarshini was killed. The case was initially investigated by the Delhi Police. But Santosh’s father being an IPS officer, reports said, he was allegedly influencing the probe. The case was later transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The Delhi Police in its report had said Priyadarshini had not been subjected to sexual assault, and that his blood sample was planted in her undergarment to frame Santosh in a false case. Santosh was acquitted by a Delhi court in 1999, three years after Priyadarshini’s murder. However, the court criticised the CBI for its approach in the investigation.
Additional Sessions Judge GP Thareja, in a 450-page order, highlighted crucial flaws in the investigation by the Delhi Police and the CBI. The neighbour of the Mattoos and a key witness was not examined by the police until two days after Priyadarshini's body was discovered, as per an India Today report. The CBI also failed to examine Virendra Prasad, the Mattoo family's domestic help and a crucial witness. The CBI never examined him, claiming he was unavailable.
There were flaws even in the way forensic evidence was collected, it was reported. Items collected during Priyadarshini's post-mortem were sealed and handed over to the CBI, but the investigating officers failed to specify who received them for forensic tests, as per the India Today report.
The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) received the sealed packet, in which the victim's socks were missing. Her undergarments and jeans showed no stains. The CCMB later confirmed the presence of white stains, but they were ruled out as that of semen. The judge flagged concerns about the possibility of the forensic report being tampered with, the report said.
Singh's underwear was sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in Delhi. From the few dried stains, the CFSL concluded the blood group was different from Santosh's.
Outcry Over Santosh's Acquittal
The acquittal of Santosh stirred widespread discontent and anger among people across the country. It was difficult to come to terms with the fact that the accused was released despite evidence. The call for justice gained momentum, leading to the formation of an organisation named "Justice for Priya". Through this organisation, people began uniting with a shared purpose of intensifying their efforts to seek justice for Priyadarshini Mattoo.
Justice Prevails In The End
In February 2000, following the CBI’s appeal in the Delhi High Court, a warrant was issued against Santosh. After six years, on October 17, 2006, the HC found Santosh guilty of rape and murder of Priyadarshini and was handed out a death sentence. Reports said it was established that the samples sent for DNA testing were of semen, which was found in Priya's body, and they matched Santosh's blood.
Santosh moved the Supreme Court against the Delhi HC decision, and the apex court imposed a stay on the order. Subsequently, on October 6, 2010, the SC upheld Santosh's conviction but commuted the death penalty to life imprisonment.
In 2019, the Delhi HC granted three-week parole to Santosh. According to a PTI report, Justice Mukta Gupta granted parole to Santosh to write the final year examination of LLM (Master of Laws).