In late August 1978, Geeta and Sanjay Chopra stepped out of their home in a quiet neighbourhood in Delhi. Geeta had to record a programme at All India Radio. Her younger brother Sanjay accompanied her. The two teenagers disappeared.

Four days later, their disfigured bodies would be found by cowherds in a deserted corner of the Ridge, a thickly forested area on the western outskirts of the city. The brutal killing of the children traumatized the city and transfixed the nation. The prime minister had to answer questions about the crime in parliament and police forces in numerous states were mobilized to hunt down the killers.