Oracle

Her name was Shubha Shankaranarayan. She was 21 years old, a law student in Bengaluru. She was in a relationship with Arun Varma, her 19 year old college junior. Her father did not approve and arranged her engagement to someone else. On November 30, 2003, Shubha got engaged to B.V. Girish, a 27 year old software engineer. His family celebrated. His future seemed set. Three days later, Shubha called Girish and suggested they spend some time together before the wedding. She proposed dinner and then a stop near HAL Airport to watch planes take off from the viewpoint on Inner Ring Road. He agreed. While Girish stood looking at the runway, three men attacked him from behind with a motorcycle shock absorber. Shubha stood nearby and screamed at the attackers to stop, pretending to be shocked. Girish suffered severe head injuries. He died in hospital the next morning. His family filed a police complaint. At first, investigators found nothing. Girish had no enemies, and suspicion did not fall on Shubha because the engagement had happened just days earlier. Then police reviewed the engagement video. Shubha appeared unhappy and disinterested throughout. Her expressions did not match someone who had just gotten engaged. Investigators dug deeper. They discovered that Shubha had made 73 phone calls and exchanged numerous messages with Arun Varma on the day of the murder. When confronted with the evidence, she confessed. The murder had been planned even before the engagement. Shubha wanted to be with Arun Varma, so she, Arun, and two hired men planned to kill Girish. Girish had been engaged for just three days. In July 2010, all four were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. The Karnataka High Court later upheld the verdict. In 2025, the Supreme Court also upheld all four life sentences. The Supreme Court observed: "Shubha chose a tragic and unacceptable route to address her personal issues, which led to the loss of a young and innocent life." He went to watch planes take off with his fiancee. He never came home. The police cracked this case in 2003 using Call Detail Records, which was a relatively new investigation technique in India at the time. 73 calls in one day between Shubha and Arun Varma broke the case open.