Shabnam Ali

2022-03-14T07:26:25Z

50.46.45.56: /* Case details */ corrected error in hyphen usage

{{Multiple issues|
{{Underlinked|date=February 2021}}
{{Orphan|date=February 2021}}
}}
{{Infobox criminal
| name = Shabnam Ali
| criminal_penalty = Hanging
| criminal_status = in prison
| trial_end = 2010
| trial_start = 2008
| weapon = Axe
| fatalities = 7
| spouse =
| parents = Shaukat Ali<br>Hashmi
| victims = [[#Victims|see below]]
| criminal_charge = Murder
| native_name =
| known_for =
| organization =
| citizenship = India
| nationality = [[Indian people|Indian]]
| birth_place =
| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1983}}
| birth_name =
| native_name_lang =
| notable_works =
| image = Shabnam Ali.png
| caption =
| image_size =
| education = Double MA in English and Geography
| occupation = Teacher
| years_active = unknown-2008
}}
'''Shabnam Ali''' is a criminal who was sentenced to death for killing seven members of her family including her mother, father, two brothers, sister-in-law, cousin and 10-month-old nephew by serving them milk laced with [[sedative]]s and then slitting their throats, on the intervening night of April 14/15 in 2008.<ref>{{cite web|first1=TIMESOFINDIA COM / Updated:|last1=Feb 18|last2=2021|first3=14:08|last3=Ist|accessdate=2021-02-20|title=Who is Shabnam Ali: First woman to be hanged till death after independence |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/who-is-shabnam-ali-first-woman-in-india-to-be-hanged-till-death/articleshow/81081970.cms|website=The Times of India}}</ref> She along with her boyfriend Salim was arrested on April 19, 2008. Shabnam believes to be the first female prisoner in the history of independent India who will be hanged till death.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|accessdate=2021-02-20|title=Shabnam Ali: The First Woman To Be Hanged In Independent India|url=https://in.makers.yahoo.com/shabnam-ali-first-woman-hanged-independent-india-042742675.html|website=in.makers.yahoo.com}}</ref>

In September 2015, submitted a [[mercy plea]] which was rejected by the then governor of Uttar Pradesh, [[Ram Naik]] and in August 2016, then-President [[Pranab Mukherjee]] also rejected her mercy petition.
==Early life==
Shabnam hails from [[Bawankheri]], a village in the outskirts of [[Amroha]] and belongs to the [[Saifi]] Muslim community. She did her double MA in English and Geography and was working as a teacher in a primary school in Bawankheri.<ref name=":0" /> She was seven weeks pregnant with her boyfriend at the time she committed the crime and gave birth to a boy in the jail in December 2008 who stayed with her until 2015 and was later sent to foster care.
==Case details==
[[File:Salim.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Salim after his arrest in 2008]]
Shabnam was born and brought up into an educated and land-owning family. She was working as a teacher in a primary school in Bawankheri at the time she fell in love with Salim, a Class VI dropout who operated a farmer’s grass-cutting machine. Her parents were not happy with their relationship and they stopped her from meeting Salim which angered them and provoked them to plot the murders. On the night of April 14/15 in 2008, Shabnam served milk laced with sedatives to her family and then called Salim who walked in with an axe. Shabnam then held each of her family members by their hair, while Saleem [[severed]] their necks with the [[axe]]. Shabnam then strangled 10-month-old Arsh her brother Anees's son, who couldn’t be drugged with the tea. In a statement "She said, 'The baby kept crying but Salim told me he must not be touched. But I was scared, so I throttled him myself'." They were both arrested on April 19, 2008, and Shabnam was seven weeks pregnant with Saleem's child. At the time of committing the crime, Shabnam was 25 years old with a double MA degree.<ref>{{cite web|accessdate=2021-02-20|title=Lovers slay family in 'honour killing' belt|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/lovers-slay-family-in-honour-killing-belt/cid/592345|website=www.telegraphindia.com}}</ref>
==Trial==
On 15 July 2010, district judge [[SAA Hussaini]] ruled that Shabnam and Salim should be hanged till death for the multiple murders, a verdict subsequently upheld by the [[Sessions Court|sessions court]], the [[Allahabad High Court]] and the [[Supreme Court of India|Supreme Court]]. During the course of their trial, the couple turned against each other. The Supreme Court observed in its judgement that in her Section 313 statement, Shabnam said Saleem had entered the house with a knife through the roof and killed all her family members while she was asleep. Saleem, on the other hand, said he had gone to the house "only upon the request of Shabnam" and that when he reached there, she confessed to having killed the family.<ref>{{cite web|accessdate=2021-02-20|title=Photos: Flying start to India’s air show in Bengaluru|url=https://gulfnews.com/photos/news/photos-flying-start-to-indias-air-show-in-bengaluru-1.1612333293567|website=gulfnews.com}}</ref>

Shabnam had challenged the lower court's order in the Supreme Court but the top court had upheld the decision. After this, Shabnam and Salim sent a mercy petition to the President, but their plea got rejected. She then filed a review petition in the top court but that was also rejected. Shabnam has been lodged in Rampur prison later shifted to Bareilly jail on March 2, 2021, for security reasons, after her photos with some fellow inmates surfaced on social media platforms. The photos were clicked and circulated by a male prison guard and a woman guard who was also been placed under suspension.<ref>{{cite news|accessdate=2021-03-04|title=Amroha murder case: Death-row convict Shabnam sent to Bareilly jail|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/death-row-convict-shabnam-sent-to-bareilly-jail/articleshow/81304798.cms|newspaper=The Economic Times|via=The Economic Times}}</ref> Salim is currently lodged in [[Agra Jail]].<ref>{{cite web|accessdate=2021-02-20|title=Who is Shabnam Ali, the first woman to be hanged in Independent India|url=https://opoyi.com/who-is-shabnam-ali-the-first-woman-to-be-hanged-in-independent-india|website=opoyi.com}}</ref>
==Victims==
{| class="wikitable"
! scope="col" | Name
! scope="col" | Relation
! scope="col" | Age
|-
| Shaukat Ali || Father || 55
|-
| Hashmi || Mother || 50
|-
| Anees || Elder brother || 35
|-
| Anjum || Sister in law || 25
|-
| Rashid || Younger brother || 22
|-
| Rabia || Cousin || 14
|-
| Arsh || Nephew || 10 months
|-
|}
==See also==
*[[List of offenders executed in India]]
*[[Joshi-Abhyankar serial murders]]
*[[Amroha murder case]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1983 births]]

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Shabnam Ali