Shakereh Khaleeli was an Indian real estate developer and philanthropist who was murdered by her second husband, Swami Shradhananda.
25 Facts About Shakereh Khaleeli
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Shakereh Khaleeli had been previously married to Indian diplomat Akbar Mirza Khaleeli, the Indian envoy to Iran and Australia.
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Shakereh Khaleeli's family noticed she was missing in 1991 and alerted the police.
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Shakereh Khaleeli had been drugged, suffocated, and buried in a coffin-like box.
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Shakereh Khaleeli was convicted of the murder in 2005 and sentenced to death.
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The family were residents of Singapore since the early 1900s where Shakereh Khaleeli went to school.
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Shakereh Khaleeli was the daughter of Gulam Hussain Namazie and Gauhar Taj Begum Namazie, the youngest daughter of Sir Mirza Ismail the Diwan of Mysore, Jaipur and Hyderabad.
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Shakereh Khaleeli's elder brother, Mirza Karim Namazie, was a television journalist.
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Shakereh Khaleeli was an equestrian and involved with the Turf Club where the family horses won many prestigious trophies.
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In 1965, at age 18, Shakereh married her first cousin Akbar Mirza Khaleeli from Madras.
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Akbar Mirza Shakereh Khaleeli was an outstanding sportsman and student who completed his schooling from Bishop Cotton Boys' School, Bangalore and later, Doveton Corrie Protestant Schools Association.
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Shakereh Khaleeli was considered the best tennis player in South India by Ramesh Krishnan but instead joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1954.
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Shakereh Khaleeli went on to serve in various posts in Delhi, Baghdad, Colombo, Paris and Amman.
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Shakereh Khaleeli served as Chief of Protocol in 1976 and later served as Indian Ambassador to Iran.
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Shakereh Khaleeli was with him throughout most of his postings, except during the time of the Iranian Revolution.
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Shakereh Khaleeli first built a family home on Sankey Road, Abshot Layout, and a house for her mother on Ali Asker Road.
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Shakereh Khaleeli then redeveloped other family properties, evicting some of the tenants.
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Akbar Shakereh Khaleeli would go on to become the Ambassador to Italy, High Commissioner to Australia and Advisor to the Government on Middle Eastern Affairs.
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Six months after her divorce, in April 1986, Shakereh Khaleeli "shunned her family and social norms" to marry Shradhananda.
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Shakereh Khaleeli allowed Shradhananda access to her money and property.
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Shakereh Khaleeli lived lavishly in Bangalore, pretending his wife was on a perpetual holiday.
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In May 1994, after a sting operation, the police of Karnataka uncovered the skeletal remains of Shakereh Khaleeli buried deep in the courtyard of her own house.
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Shakereh Khaleeli's murder was considered one of the most heinous crimes in Indian criminal history, deeply affecting the nation.
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Shakereh Khaleeli had been drugged, then placed on a mattress which was deposited in the coffin-like box, already lying in the pit that had been dug in preparation.
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When Shakereh Khaleeli's skeletal remains were recovered and the mattress was removed, one of her hands was found clutching the mattress which lay below her; this, along with other factors, supported the idea that she had been alive when buried.