Indus Valley Times

UTTAR PRADESH,MAR 24 : Neelam Sharma, the wife of the editor-in-chief of a leading Agra newspaper – Vijay Sharma, was murdered in her own home on February 20, 2014. Following the murder, her home was robbed but the police found no leads until Vijay Sharma’s pet parrot began screaming the name of Sharma’s nephew.

Vijay Sharma became suspicious after hearing the parrot’s cries and requested the police to question the nephew. The nephew, Ashu, confessed to murdering Neelam with the help of his friend Ronnie Massey.

Today, nine years after the murder, Special Judge Mohammad Rashid sentenced both the accused – Ashu and Ronnie – to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 72,000 based on Ashu’s confession and subsequent evidence.

According to information obtained by India Today, Vijay Sharma left his home on February 20, 2014, to attend a wedding in Firozabad with his son Rajesh and daughter Nivedita.

Neelam stayed home. When Vijay returned late at night, he was surprised to find the bodies of his wife and pet dog. The two were killed with a sharp object. After informing the police, some suspects were caught.

Vijay Sharma’s pet parrot, on the other hand, stopped eating and drinking and went silent. Sharma suspected that the parrot may have witnessed the murder.

When he began naming the suspects one by one in front of the parrot, the bird was horrified by Ashu’s name and began screaming “Ashu-Ashu.” Even in front of the police, when the parrot had the same reaction to Ashu’s name, he was arrested. This was also mentioned by the police during their investigation.

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Nivedita Sharma, Neelam Sharma’s daughter, told India Today that Ashu used to come and go to the house and even stayed for many years.

Her father also gave him Rs 80,000 to pursue an MBA degree. Ashu knew where the jewellery and cash were kept in the house and he planned a robbery, Nivedita said. He stabbed the pet dog nine times with a knife and Neelam 14 times, indicating that his only intention was to kill and loot, she added.

The parrot was mentioned throughout the case, but was not produced as evidence because the Evidence Act makes no such provision.

Nivedita said that the bird died six months after the incident. Vijay Sharma died on November 14, 2020, during the Covid-19 epidemic. “My parents wanted Ashu to be hanged, and the entire family would petition the Supreme Court to have him punished,” she said.

-The India Today