Fraught with intense wars, ethnic clashes and diplomatic tiffs, the year 2023 remained volatile in every aspect. While the Gaza war, and assassination claims by the US and Canada against India occupied the second half, the year began on a grim note with the death of 20-year-old Anjali Singh after being hit by a car and dragged for 13 km. The year moved on to witness the Mira Road murder in which a man cooked the flesh of his live-in partner, the murder of gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed caught on live TV, and the shooting of Karni Sena chief Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi in Rajasthan, which was again caught on camera. Here's looking back at some of the incidents that shocked us.
Kanjhawala 'Drag And Run' Case
Accident or cold-blooded murder? The twists and turns in this horrific case kept the police mired in contradicting statements. The incident drew fierce outrage when a video showed a 20-year-old Anjali Singh being dragged by a Baleno car on the intervening night of December 31 and January 1 in Delhi's Kanjhawala area. The shocking case that sent the police, people and the media into a tizzy started with a call to the PCR at around 2 am late on December 31, 2022, reporting that a Baleno car fled after an accident. This was followed by a second call around 3.30 am on January 1, 2023, with the caller saying the body was being dragged by a Baleno vehicle. A third call around 4 am informed the police that a woman's body was recovered near Jonty village. Anjali Singh was riding a scooter when she and her friend returned from a party. Her vehicle was hit by the car around 2 am and she was dragged along as her leg got stuck to one of the wheels. What sparked outrage was that the men drove around for an hour and did not stop even after noticing her arm under the wheels. They drove until her body slid off.
The police soon reached the spot and Anjali was rushed to hospital where she was declared dead on arrival. The police decoded the car number and four accused were arrested on January 1. A total of seven arrests were made in the case. While Deepak Khanna, Amit Khanna, Krishan, Mithun and Manoj Mittal were arrested soon after the incident, Ashutosh and Ankush Khanna were held later for allegedly shielding the accused. Eleven police officials were also suspended on the order of the Home Ministry for dereliction of duty.
After a thorough probe, the Delhi Police in its 800-page chargesheet charged four accused — Amit, Krishan, Mithun, and Manoj — present inside the car at the time of the incident with murder along with other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Deepak, Ankush and Ashutosh faced charges of criminal conspiracy and destruction of evidence.
Mira Road Murder - Man Cooks Partner's Flesh
Undoubtedly the goriest crime to have been reported this year, a 56-year-old man in Maharashtra's Mira road allegedly killed and chopped the body of his 32-year-old live-in partner, bringing back haunting memories of the Shraddha murder case that rocked 2022. In June this year, people discovered the murder following an unbearing stench around the couple's apartment. Accused Manoj Sane allegedly killed Saraswati Vaidya, chopped her body into pieces and kept the flesh and blood in buckets. Police were quoted as saying that he confessed to chopping the body and that it was found during the probe that some body parts were boiled in a pressure cooker while some were ground in a mixer.
Saraswati was raised at an orphanage. It was reported that she had once visited the orphanage along with Manoj and introduced him as her uncle there. However, when interrogated by the police, Sane said Saraswati died by suicide and he chopped her body to dispose it of because he panicked. But the police suspected this to be a planned murder. In their statement to the media, the police said Sane might have slow-poisoned Saraswati. He was booked for murder and destruction of evidence. The police believed he chopped Saraswati's body into 20 pieces and disposed of some of them in different areas.
Murder Of Gangster-Politician Atiq Ahmed On Live TV
Nobody imagined that Atiq Ahmed, a five-time MLA and a name that sent shivers down the spine of people for years in Uttar Pradesh, would suffer a helpless and unexpected death at the hands of someone who once wanted to join his gang. Atiq and his brother Ashraf, while in police custody, were shot dead when they were interacting with the media on the way to a medical check-up. The shooting captured on live TV showed Atiq and his brother shot in point-blank range while surrounded by a dozen police personnel and media persons. While few sympathised with the brothers, questions about the law and order situation were raised. This murder came days after one of his sons, Asad, was killed in a police encounter in Jhansi. Ahmed was buried next to his son.
According to the police, one of the prime accused in the Atiq Ahmed murder case, shooter Lovelesh Tiwari, had met the gangster earlier in Prayagraj and wanted to join his gang. Atiq's case came into the limelight when Umesh Pal, the prime witness in the murder case of BSP MLA Raju Pal, was shot dead at his residence and it was alleged that Atiq got him killed to retain power.
READ | 'Now Mafia Can't Scare Anyone': CM Yogi During His First Address After Atiq, Ashraf Ahmed Murder
Karni Sena Chief Shot Dead In Jaipur
Karni Sena chief Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi was shot dead inside his house in Jaipur by unidentified assailants and the shocking incident was captured in a
CCTV video that went viral later. The incident took place on December 5, two days after the declaration of assembly election results. Later, the notorious Lawrence Bishnoi gang claimed responsibility for the murder. It was revealed after the arrest of the two shooters, Rohit Rathod and Nitin Fauji, that the gang was upset with Gogamedi for abandoning the protests against their close associate, gangster Anandpal Singh, and accused him of taking the funds collected in his name.
The CCTV video showed two men firing multiple shots at Gogamedi who then collapsed. He was rushed to hospital but succumbed to his injuries soon. Gogamedi's supporters staged widespread protests in the state and a bandh was also observed.
RPF Officer Goes On Shooting Spree
In perhaps the most shocking incident this year, a Railway Protection Force officer went on a shooting spree inside the running Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express in August and gunned down three passengers and his senior in a fit of rage. The 33-year-old constable, Chetan Singh, first shot his senior, ASI Tikaram Meena, before he went on to kill Abdul Kadar Mohamed Hussain Bhanpurawala, Syed Saifuddin and Asgar Abbas Sheikh. He was also heard making incendiary comments during the incident, which was caught on camera. This seemed to be an act of targeted hatred towards a community and later it was found that Singh was earlier involved in a hate case against a Muslim man. Singh was arrested on murder charges and an SIT was formed to probe the incident. He was later sacked from the RPF.
READ | Jaipur-Mumbai Train Shooting: RPF Constable Had 'Communal Grudge', Say Police. Wife Denies