Tandoor Murder Case: A Crime That Shook India
"When love turns into obsession, and obsession into ashes..."
On a sultry night in July 1995, New Delhi witnessed a murder so horrific that it still sends shivers down the spine. The case involved a political couple, a suspected affair, and a body burned in a restaurant oven. This is the chilling story of the Tandoor Murder Case.
Naina Sahni was known for her charm and elegance — a former beauty queen, graceful and educated. She had recently joined politics, becoming a Congress party worker. Her husband, Sushil Sharma, was a rising star in the same political circle, a Youth Congress leader with ambition burning in his eyes.
To the world, they looked like a power couple. But behind closed doors, the relationship was breaking. Sushil was suspicious. He believed Naina was still in touch with an old friend — Matloob Karim, also a fellow politician.
That suspicion would soon spiral into something irreversible.
Naina Sahni
Sushil Sharma
It was the night of July 2, 1995. Naina was at home, reportedly speaking on the phone. When Sushil returned and saw the conversation, his jealousy exploded. Words turned into shouts, shouts turned into rage, and then — gunshots. He fired at her. Once. Twice. A third time. Naina collapsed. Dead But murder wasn’t the end — it was just the beginning.
Inside the Tandoor: A Grisly Discovery
Panicked and desperate, Sharma needed to erase the evidence. He knew someone who ran a restaurant — Baghiya Restaurant in Connaught Place. Late that night, he carried Naina’s lifeless body there.
He opened the kitchen door.
There it stood: a tandoor, the traditional Indian clay oven used for making naan and roasting meat.
Sushil placed her body inside, poured kerosene, and lit the flames.
He thought the fire would bury the truth. Caught by Smoke :
But Delhi’s night doesn’t sleep quietly.
A nearby police patrol noticed black smoke rising unusually high from the restaurant. Suspicious, they entered. The staff was uneasy, and the smell was… wrong.
As they approached the tandoor, horror dawned.
Inside, they found human remains — charred beyond recognition.
The restaurant manager confessed: Sharma had brought the body. He had tried to destroy it. But the fire had betrayed him.
Forensic Truth :
The body was burned, but science spoke.
Forensic experts used bones, blood samples, and dental structure to identify Naina Sahni. DNA testing confirmed what everyone feared.
Sushil Sharma fled. He was arrested in Bangalore days later.
Trial and Justice :
The courtroom was packed.
In 2003, the trial court sentenced him to death.
In 2007, the High Court agreed.
But in 2013, the Supreme Court commuted it to life imprisonment, stating that although heinous, it wasn’t the “rarest of rare” case.
Then, in 2023, Sushil Sharma was released after serving 28 years in Tihar Jail.
