Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Apr 20: In connection with the gruesome double murder that took place ten years ago in a rented house in Attavar, the first additional district and sessions court in Mangaluru on Saturday sentenced three accused to life imprisonment.
The convicts are Mohammad Muhajir Sanaaf (35) from Cherkkala, Chengala gram panchayat, Kasargod; A Mohammad Irshad (34) from TV Station Road, Anangoor, Vidyanagar; and A Mohammad Safwan (34).
The victims were Nafeer (24) from Thalassery and Faheem (25) from Kozhikode, Kerala.
It may be recalled, Nafeer had smuggled gold bars from abroad and, through his friend Faheem, handed them over to the intended recipients. Together with Faheem and the three accused, the gold was sold, but a dispute arose over the division of money, which allegedly led to the murders.
On May 15, 2014, a 10-cent plot was purchased using the money obtained from the gold sale. The land, located at Shankaran Kadu in Yellaneeradka, Bedadka village, Kasaragod, was registered under the name of accused Safwan. To avoid suspicion, the accused dug pits for planting coconut saplings on the land, with one pit dug deeper than the others.
On June 16, 2014, the accused rented a house near Umamaheshwara Temple in Attavar. The following day, they brought Nafeer and Faheem to the house under the pretense of staying together. Each victim was given a separate room, while the three accused shared another.
On the morning of July 1, the accused murdered Faheem in his room by slitting his throat with a knife. Nafeer, who was in the next room, was then attacked—stabbed in the throat, shoulder, and chest. The accused then drained blood from both bodies in a ‘halal’ method, tied their arms and legs with rope, and packed the bodies into plastic sacks. The corpses were transported in a rented car to Kasargod and buried in the pit previously dug on their plot of land.
To destroy evidence, they cut up the blood-stained bedding from the crime scene and disposed of it in a stream under the Chandragiri River bridge in Kasargod.
The neighbours noticed the trio frequently transporting items from the rented house in their car and grew suspicious. They suspected illegal activities, possibly involving drugs or smuggling, and alerted the police.
On July 6, at around 6:35 p.m., then-CCB Inspector Valentine D’Souza intercepted the accused while they were trying to dispose of more evidence—including chopped bedding and pillows stuffed in black plastic garbage bags. He seized the materials and, along with the suspects and their vehicle, handed them over to the Pandeshwar police station, where station officer Dikanar Shetty led the formal proceedings.
Following a detailed trial at the first additional district and sessions court in Mangaluru, Judge Mallikarjuna Swamy H S found the accused guilty and pronounced the life sentence on April 19.