Criminal Cases in India 2025
One-Liner Highlights of India’s Most Shocking, Sensational, and Significant Criminal Cases This Year
Introduction: The Most Significant Criminal Case of 2025
India in 2025 has seen a worrying pattern of serious crimes that have really rattled the country’s foundations, shaken public faith, and caught the nation’s full attention. Everything from political assassinations and cyberattacks to big financial frauds and social violence has made headlines. The picture painted this year isn’t just about the state of law and order; it also shows how wrongdoing is changing, the rise of new kinds of organized crime, and how deeply technology is now involved in criminal activities.
Below is The Vue Times‘ special editorial, comprising a short summary of the most significant criminal cases of 2025 so far, spanning every corner of India.
Political Crimes
- BJP MLA Byrathi Basavaraj was named in a murder FIR after land dispute whistleblower Biklu Shiva was hacked to death in Bengaluru.
- In Bihar, the killing of a young journalist covering local scams triggered allegations against a local JD(U) legislator.
- Shiv Sena leaders were implicated in a violent rally that resulted in the death of two Dalit activists in rural Maharashtra.
- A Congress-backed corporator from Indore was arrested for his involvement in a gangland-style shooting caught on CCTV.
- A CPI(M) panchayat leader in Kerala was convicted in a 2020 political murder that finally reached sentencing in early 2025.
- Tamil Nadu police registered sedition charges against a local DMK MLA for inciting violence during protests in Thanjavur.
- A former MP from Uttar Pradesh was accused of orchestrating a land-grab conspiracy that led to two civilian deaths in Varanasi.
- Political rivalry turned bloody when a TMC leader was lynched during panchayat elections in West Bengal’s Malda district.
- An AAP municipal councillor in Delhi was caught accepting bribes on hidden camera in a sanitation contract scam.
- Two BJP youth leaders in Assam were arrested for plotting communal riots using fake WhatsApp forwards and deepfakes.
Cybercrime & Digital Fraud
- A Gurgaon-based fintech CEO was arrested for running a ₹700 crore loan scam through phony digital lending apps.
- India’s largest data breach occurred when a Hyderabad firm leaked Aadhaar-linked health data of 25 million users.
- Mumbai cyber cell cracked a pan-India sextortion racket operating from Jharkhand’s Jamtara using AI-generated faces.
- Over ₹150 crore was siphoned via QR code frauds in 2025’s largest UPI scam, targeting senior citizens across four states.
- A Bengaluru techie was arrested for selling stolen biometric data on the dark web for cryptocurrency.
- Delhi Police’s cyber division arrested a Pakistani national operating phishing operations under an Indian identity.
- A Chennai student was detained after hacking a university portal and altering results of over 300 students.
- Over 900 fake trading apps were taken down by Maharashtra Cyber Crime after mass reports of investor fraud.
- A Lucknow startup CEO was found guilty of orchestrating a crypto Ponzi scheme that defrauded 45,000 investors.
- Goa police cracked a Bitcoin blackmailing ring that targeted politicians and influencers through email spyware.
Financial and White-Collar Crime
- India’s largest 2025 banking fraud surfaced as a Mumbai businessman defrauded HDFC Bank of ₹1,200 crore via forged letters of credit.
- CBI arrested a coal mine executive in Odisha for laundering ₹900 crore through shell companies and overseas accounts.
- Delhi’s Land Pooling Scheme scam came to light with over 500 duped investors and ₹1,100 crore missing.
- A top BMC official was caught embezzling municipal funds meant for slum redevelopment in Dharavi.
- SEBI investigation uncovered illegal insider trading by employees of a leading pharma giant headquartered in Ahmedabad.
- A fake GST refund scam worth ₹620 crore rocked Gujarat’s business circles in February 2025.
- The CAG unearthed massive financial irregularities in Smart City funds allocated to Tier 2 cities like Bhopal and Amritsar.
- An ex-RBI employee from Chennai was convicted in a currency printing bribe-for-contract scam dating back to 2022.
- A Nagpur cooperative bank chairman was arrested for siphoning farmer loan waivers into personal offshore accounts.
- Kolkata police nabbed a syndicate leader running an underground hawala ring linked to gold smuggling from the Gulf.
Violent Crimes & Murders
- The Shraddha Walker-like case re-emerged in Pune where a man dismembered his partner and hid her remains in a freezer.
- A triple murder in Himachal Pradesh involving a family poisoned over property dispute shocked the hill state in April.
- A railway engineer in Jharkhand was bludgeoned to death in a contract-kickback dispute traced to mining mafias.
- Delhi saw a horrific case of honor killing where a father shot his daughter and her partner outside a marriage registrar’s office.
- In Madhya Pradesh, a political campaign worker was lynched in Guna over fake rumors of child kidnapping spread via WhatsApp.
- A young influencer in Hyderabad was strangled by a rejected admirer in a chilling hotel room murder streamed live.
- A road rage incident in Bengaluru turned fatal when a software engineer was stabbed at a traffic junction during peak hours.
- Four bodies were found buried under a farmhouse in Noida, exposing a complex family inheritance feud and serial killing.
- A retired army officer was shot dead in Jaipur in what police suspect is a contract killing over disputed ancestral land.
- A tribal woman in Chhattisgarh was beheaded on suspicion of witchcraft, reigniting debate on superstitions and tribal justice.
Police & Law Enforcement Scandals
- An IPS officer in Bihar was suspended after being linked to illegal sand mining and political kickbacks.
- Punjab’s top narcotics cop was caught protecting drug syndicates in return for luxury properties and overseas travel.
- An SP in Maharashtra was exposed for shielding a rape-accused politician in exchange for illegal land.
- A Bengaluru DCP was recorded threatening a rape survivor to withdraw her complaint against a senior official’s son.
- In Rajasthan, custodial torture claims were confirmed after a Dalit teen died in police custody in Bikaner.
- Delhi Crime Branch busted its own officer running an internal bribery racket to suppress high-profile FIRs.
- A DIG-rank officer in Uttar Pradesh was caught with ₹2.8 crore cash during a Lokayukta raid in Kanpur.
- A fake encounter in Assam led to the killing of an innocent youth, prompting NHRC intervention.
- Goa police were found planting drugs on tourists to extort money, causing diplomatic complaints from two European consulates.
- A CBI joint director was booked for passing sensitive probe information to corporate lobbies.
Health & Pharma Crimes
- A fake blood bank network in Bihar was busted for selling adulterated plasma during dengue season.
- Over 6 lakh expired medicines were seized in Madhya Pradesh from a warehouse that had government contracts.
- A Delhi private hospital faced charges for faking patient entries under Ayushman Bharat to siphon subsidies.
- In Kerala, illegal organ trafficking was traced to a network operating through private hospitals and social media.
- Maharashtra FDA raided a pharma company in Nashik for manufacturing fake cancer drugs supplied across four states.
- A COVID-era scam resurfaced in Tamil Nadu when fake ventilators were found installed in rural PHCs.
- Uttar Pradesh police caught a gang selling forged WHO certificates to export substandard ayurvedic medicines.
- A doctor in Kolkata was charged with sexually exploiting interns and threatening to revoke their licenses.
- A woman died in Hyderabad due to a botched IVF surgery performed by an unlicensed practitioner.
- A Haryana-based firm was blacklisted after WHO flagged its baby formula as containing industrial chemicals.
Crimes Against Women & Children
- A minor Dalit girl in Rajasthan was assaulted and set on fire by her employer’s son, sparking statewide protests.
- In Delhi, a college professor was arrested for operating a pornography ring using hidden cameras in girls’ hostels.
- A boarding school in Himachal Pradesh was exposed for decades of child sexual abuse by senior staff members.
- UP police arrested a woman’s in-laws after CCTV footage showed her being pushed off a balcony for dowry.
- A transgender activist in Odisha was stabbed outside a court after testifying in a harassment case.
- An AI-generated nude photo scam in Gujarat led to a student suicide and national calls for deepfake regulation.
- Over 80 minor girls were rescued from a madrassa in West Bengal that was doubling as a trafficking hub.
- A woman died in Tamil Nadu after being forced into a “trial marriage” scam by a YouTuber running caste purity campaigns.
- Karnataka saw a spate of acid attacks, with one IT firm allegedly hiding a victim’s complaint to protect its manager.
- In Maharashtra, a female journalist investigating gender crimes was stalked and nearly abducted by hired goons.
Communal & Religious Violence
- In Haryana’s Nuh district, a religious procession turned violent, leaving 14 dead and dozens injured amid allegations of police negligence.
- A temple demolition in Varanasi sparked communal clashes that spread to neighboring towns, prompting curfew and internet suspension.
- In Mangaluru, a pastor was lynched after false conversions allegations were circulated via viral social media messages.
- Assam police arrested a group planning to incite riots by distributing fake pamphlets under religious organizations’ names.
- In Hyderabad’s Old City, a minor road rage incident spiraled into full-blown communal rioting, with 100+ arrested.
- Uttar Pradesh witnessed targeted arson of religious structures in Prayagraj after a land encroachment dispute.
- Punjab police booked 15 radicals for instigating violent protests against sacrilege allegations at a gurdwara in Ludhiana.
- In Bihar’s Arrah, a school was attacked under suspicion of promoting religious extremism; 7 staff injured.
- A man in Rajasthan was publicly lynched after being falsely accused of cow slaughter in a politically sensitive region.
- Bengaluru authorities foiled a major conspiracy to bomb religious sites after arresting two radicalized youth with online ISIS links.
Environmental & Wildlife Crimes
- Over 400 acres of reserved forest land in Uttarakhand were illegally flattened for a “spiritual city” by a politically backed trust.
- In Assam, an endangered rhino was poached inside Kaziranga with insider help from park rangers.
- Tamil Nadu caught a multinational textile brand for illegal dye-dumping into the Cauvery, leading to mass fish deaths.
- Delhi’s largest tree-felling scam in decades came to light during metro expansion, with forged clearances from forest officers.
- Wildlife trafficking syndicates were busted in Mumbai smuggling exotic snakes and birds to the Middle East.
- Goa beach erosion worsened after illegal sand mining resumed under cover of tourism-related permissions.
- Punjab farmers were caught burning plastic waste in lieu of stubble, creating toxic smog spikes across 3 districts.
- An illegal timber racket involving politicians was uncovered in Meghalaya’s Garo Hills forest zone.
- An Ahmedabad industrial zone was fined ₹90 crore after being found guilty of groundwater poisoning.
- In Himachal Pradesh, a fraudulent green energy startup diverted carbon credits worth ₹50 crore using fake plantation data.
Celebrity & High-Profile Legal Cases
- Bollywood actor Ranbir Arora was arrested for illegal foreign exchange dealings through crypto-linked offshore accounts.
- A popular reality TV host was convicted in a 2021 hit-and-run case after CCTV footage re-emerged.
- A Malayalam actor was named in a drug trafficking ring alongside two Mumbai-based casting agents.
- A social media influencer couple from Pune was booked for laundering money through real estate “reviews.”
- A former IPL team co-owner was jailed for defrauding minority shareholders in a betting-linked investment scheme.
- Tamil actor-politician Ravi Narayan was arrested for abetment to suicide of a young co-star amid harassment allegations.
- A top YouTube vlogger was arrested for a “fake death” insurance scam involving an NRI identity theft.
- In Chandigarh, a celebrity dietician was charged with prescribing illegal steroids leading to a teen’s death.
- A Delhi-based pop star was caught in a luxury car theft ring that operated through showroom insider links.
- A Kannada actress sparked legal drama after exposing abuse by a top producer, leading to a MeToo wave in South India again.
Terrorism, Insurgency & National Security
More Read
- NIA foiled a major cross-border plot by intercepting drone-supplied explosives near Pathankot.
- In Kashmir, four hybrid terrorists were killed during a highway shootout while transporting arms from Pakistan.
- Naxalite activity surged in Chhattisgarh as 12 CRPF jawans were killed in a landmine ambush near Bijapur.
- A suspected ISI sleeper cell was busted in Gujarat’s Bhuj, with maps of Army depots and fake Aadhaar cards seized.
- In Manipur, a militant outfit was linked to illegal weapons smuggled through the Myanmar border.
- An explosive-laden SUV was found near Mumbai’s Eastern Freeway, triggering a high-alert week in the city.
- In West Bengal, illegal Bangladeshi migrants were arrested with fake Indian passports and government IDs.
- A major espionage racket involving a DRDO contractor leaking missile data was uncovered by central agencies.
- Mumbai Airport security stopped a Syrian national carrying coded digital blueprints of sensitive military bases.
- Delhi Police foiled a cyber terror attempt to hack the CoWIN database and leak citizen vaccination records to foreign servers.
Conclusion:
India’s legal and crime scene in 2025 really shows how complex the country is. You’ve got huge technological advancements, messy political situations, social and cultural clashes, and problems with institutions all coming together in cases that are both shocking and eye-opening. Whether it’s violent crimes, celebrity controversies, financial scams, or cyber terrorism, every story in this collection isn’t just a news item; it’s part of the bigger story of a nation that’s constantly changing.