Man convicted of 2014 murder case gets life imprisonment with parrot’s statement
Neelam Sharma and her pet dog were brutally stabbed to death and robbed at her home, but police were unable to find any leads until the family’s pet parrot began screaming the name of Sharma’s nephew.
Neelam Sharma and her pet dog were brutally stabbed to death at her home in Agra in 2014. Following the murder, the home was robbed, but police were unable to find any leads until the family’s pet parrot began screaming the name of Sharma’s nephew.
The deceased, Neelam Sharma, wife of the editor-in-chief of a leading Agra newspaper, Vijay Sharma, The incident took place on February 20, 2014, when Sharma, his son Rajesh, and daughter Nivedita went to Firozabad to attend a marriage, while Neelam stayed at home.
When Vijay and his children returned home late at night, they found Neelam’s and their pet dog’s bodies. Both of them were brutally stabbed multiple times with a sharp object. They informed the police, and some suspects were caught.
The family had a parrot, which stopped eating and went silent. Vijay Sharma was concerned that the bird might have witnessed the crime. In order to find some clues, he started naming the suspects one by one in front of the parrot. Surprisingly, the bird began yelling “Ashu-Ashu” when it heard Ashu’s name.
Sharma immediately informed the police, after which Vijay’s nephew Ashutosh and his friend Ronnie got arrested. During questioning, Ashu confessed to murdering Neelam with the help of his friend Ronnie Massey.
Nine years after the severe homicide, Special Judge Mohammad Rashid sentenced both Ashu and Ronnie to life imprisonment. He also imposed a fine of Rs. 72,000 on the accused.
Neelam Sharma’s daughter, Nivedita Sharma, told India Today that Ashu was a frequent visitor and even stayed for many years. His father also helped him financially to pursue an MBA.
Ashu knew about the house, where the family kept jewellery and cash. Soon, they planned a robbery and stabbed pet nine times and Neelam 14 times, which indicated that he only wanted to kill them to loot the cash and jewellery.
Nivedita said the bird died six months after the incident, and his father died on November 14, 2022, during the pandemic. “My parents wanted Ashu to be hanged, and the entire family would petition the Supreme Court to have him punished,” she said.
Ms Kalinga