12 years before Shraddha murder case, Dehradun saw Anupama Gulati killed and chopped into 72 pieces
Rajesh Gulati had murdered and dismembered the body of his wife Anupama Gulati in Dehradun on October 17, 2010. Photo: Anupama Pradhan Gulati / Facebook
The Shraddha Walkar murder case has brought back memories of a similar nightmare that took place in Dehradun in 2010. A man called Rajesh Gulati killed his wife Anupama Gulati, dismembered her body into 72 pieces, stored the body parts in a freezer and disposed them off at several places across the Uttarakhand capital.
What was the case?
- The couple, Rajesh Gulati and Anupama Gulati had a love marriage in 1999. After the wedding, they moved to US for six years and returned to India in 2006.
- Anupama hailed from Delhi, while Rajesh was from Dehradun and worked as a software engineer.
- Upon their return from US, the couple decided to settle in Dehradun's Prakash Nagar.
- The couple had two children.
The murder: It was reported that the couple used to have frequent fights, and during one such fight on October 17, 2010, Anupama had a physical altercation with Rajesh. Anupama's head hit the bed.
- Rajesh then used a pillow to suffocate her to death.
- To hide the murder, Rajesh bought a big freezer, in which he stored Anupama's body.
- When her body was frozen, he used an electric saw to dismember it into several parts.
- For the next couple of days, Rajesh disposed off the body parts in the forests near Dehradun.
Rajesh and Anupama had a love marriage in 1999. Photo: Anupama Pradhan Gulati/Facebook
How the murder came to light: Rajesh hid the information of Anupama's death from her family.
- However, the family sensed something wrong.
- Anupama's brother Sujan Pradhan travelled to Dehradun on December 12, 2010, and he could not find Anupama.
- Pradhan filed a missing complaint with the police after Rajesh could not say anything about her whereabouts.
- Rajesh didn't even allow Pradhan to enter the house.
- The cantonment police raided Rajesh's house and found a deep freezer, from which pieces of Anupama's body were recovered.
- In 2011, the Dehradun police filed the charge sheet in the case.
The conviction and sentencing: In 2017, the Uttarakhand High Court convicted Rajesh Gulati of the murder of his wife and sentenced him to life imprisonment. The court had also slapped a fine of Rs 15 lakh against Gulati.
The court convicted Rajesh under Sections 302 (murder) and 201 (hiding evidence) of the IPC.
- Out of the Rs 15 lakh fine, Rs 70,000 was to be deposited in the state treasury, and the remaining amount was to be deposited in the bank till the Gulatis' children were 18.
- The court considered the case a heinous crime.
Inspiration from Hollywood movies: Just like in Shraddha Walkar's murder case where the accused Aftab Amin Poonawalla confessed that he was inspired by the American TV series Dexter, Rajesh Gulati too had told the police in 2010 that he committed the murder after watching several Hollywood movies.
Where is Rajesh Gulati now? Rajesh is still in jail, though he has got parole on medical grounds thrice. The fourth time, the Uttarakhand High Court rejected his bail and he was sent to jail.