The new true crime documentary Dancing on the Grave depicts a gruesome crime that rocked Bengaluru (then Bangalore) in the early-1990s and the investigation that followed. The disappearance and murder of socialite Shakereh Khaleeli and the arrest of her ‘godman’ husband Murali Manohar Mishra aka Swami Shraddhanand shocked many. Here is the true story behind the crime and the man who committed it.
What is Dancing on the Grave?
Dancing on the Grave is a four-part true crime docu series that is currently streaming on Prime Video. Directed by Patrick Graham of Ghoul, Leila, and Betaal-fame, the show delves deep into the murder of Shakereh Khaleeli, the granddaughter of the erstwhile Diwan of Mysore, which took place in 1991. The series uses interviews from Shakereh’s family, acquaintances, and file footage from her daughters to understand her life and death. It also features interviews from her second husband and killer Shraddhanand from inside the prison.
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What is the Shakereh Khaleeli murder case?
Shakereh Khaleeli, born in 1945, came from a family of aristocrats. Her grandfather was Sir Mirza Ismail, the popular Diwan of Mysore and her mother Gauhar Taj was a popular socialite and philanthropist in Singapore. In 1964, she married her first husband Akbar Mirza Khaleeli, an Indian Foreign Services officer, who served as India’s ambassador to various countries. Their marriage ended in 1985 after 21 years and four daughters. The following year, Shakereh married her confidante and advisor Murali Manohar Mishra, a self-proclaimed godman who had rechristened himself Swami Shraddhanand.
Shakerehwas murdered by Shraddhanand in April 1991 and buried in her own house. Shraddhanand kept maintaining the Shakereh was travelling and then said she was missing. It wasn’t until May 1994, three years after her murder, that police was able to recover her remains and arrest Shraddhanand.
Who is Swami Shradhananda and where is he now?
Shraddhanand aka Murali Manohar Mishra was an advisor to the Begum of Rampur in the late-70s and early-80s. He met Shakereh and Akbar at a party organised by the Nawab of Rampur in 1983. After his marriage to Shakereh, he slowly transferred all her properties to his name via power of attorney. The couple would often quarrel over this as her relatives recounted on the documentary. Eventually, he drugged her and buried her alive in their backyard in a wooden box he had specially made for the crime. As per forensic investigation, Shakereh regained consciousness after being buried and struggled to get out of her coffin for hours. Shraddhanand then covered the backyard up with cement and used to even organise parties on top of his wife’s grave.
Shraddhanand was tried and convicted for the murder of Shakereh. Initially, he was given a death sentence by the lower courts and the High Court, but the Supreme Court commuted his sentence to imprisonment till death. Shraddhanand's sentence is unique in Indian legal system in that it is different from the usual life imprisonment, which is for 14 years. Shraddhanand, however, will remain in prison all his life. He is currently lodged in Sagar Central Jail in MP.
