Pics: Stephan Kayyar

Daijiworld Media Network – Kasargod

Kasargod, Jun 2: The Kerala High Court has acquitted Shivamogga resident Imam Hussain (55) who was awarded life sentence by Kasargod district additional sessions court for murdering a Perla Devaloka couple in 1993.

The High Court set aside the life term and the Rs 1.5 lac penalty awarded by the district court, stating that there was no strong evidence to ascertain that Hussain had committed the crime.

Imam Hussain

Srikrishna Bhat and Srimathi

On October 9, 1993, Srikrishna Bhat and his wife Srimathi were murdered. Srikrishna Bhat’s body was found in a ditch in between plantations covered in mud and his wife’s body was found in a strangulated state in the room. Items used for black magic were found in the house. A hen was one of the important evidences for the crime. It was said that a black magician had brought it for offering. It was with the police for several years and died in course of time. Besides that, a visiting card of Imam Hussain found in the house, made the police suspicious that he was the black magician who had lured the couple and killed them.

As per reports, the couple had consulted Imam Hussain who was practicing black magic after coming across an advertisement in a paper. At that time he was staying at a lodge in Mangaluru where he was practicing black magic and astrology.

It was alleged that the couple was murdered by Imam Hussain under the belief that there was treasure in the premises of their house. Imam Hussain was accused of six crimes including murder, robbery, conspiracy of robbery, illegal trespass, break-in and destruction of evidence.

Hussain went absconding for 19 years despite police efforts to nab him. He was finally arrested in Nelamangala near Bengaluru on April 20, 2012.

The investigating team, unable to find the accused, had given up the search. The Badiadka police had investigated the incident in the beginning but made no progress. Though the search continued at a fast pace, Hussain could not be traced.
The case was taken over by the crime branch in 2008 which gathered information on the movements of the accused. The accused however used to get information on police raids in advance which enabled him to hide in different places under different disguises.

The accused was known by various names in Karnataka, Maharashtra and other states. The police team had gone to Shivamogga to find him, but he had escaped as the information got leaked. He then started working in Bengaluru as a street vendor by the name Tajuddin.

However, he was arrested on April 20, 2012 after 19 years. The Kasargod court had pronounced its verdict on November 21, 2013 after one and half years of court arguments. Even though there were 68 witnesses in the beginning, they were reduced to 39 by the time the trial began.