India, July 2 -- On the night of July 2, thirty years ago, flames rose from the chimney of a Connaught Place restaurant, carrying with them the smoke of a crime that would haunt the Capital's conscience for decades. It was late-well past closing time-and the restaurant, Bagiya Barbeque, had already shut. But someone was still inside, stoking the fire of a tandoor that hid a horrifying secret.

The body of Naina Sahni, 29, lay charred inside. Her partner, Delhi Youth Congress chief Sushil Sharma, had allegedly shot her at home and then attempted to dispose of her body in the restaurant he part-owned-Bagiya Barbeque, located inside Ashok Yatri Niwas, a government-run ITDC hotel in Connaught Place.

The murder and attempted disposal of Sahni...