Mangalore: Safiya Murder - Second Accused Abdulla Arrested
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (SP)
Mangalore, Jul 8: The Kerala crime branch sleuths achieved another major breakthrough in 14-year-old housemaid Safiya's murder case, when they nabbed one Abdulla from Arikkadi in Kumbla, who has been named as an accomplice of the prime accused Hamza in the case.
Abdulla is said to have revealed that Hamza asked Abdulla, who then was working at the check dam site in Molam, Goa, to come to his house immediately to carry out some urgent work. Hamza told him that Safiya died owing to the explosion of cooking gas cylinder and asked him to help him to dispose off her body, duly requesting him to keep the matter a secret. When Abdulla refused, Hamza is said to have warned him of withholding payment of Rs 11 lac due to him in connection with the dam work. Abdulla claimed that he was coerced into helping Hamza to dispose of the body of slain Safiya.
The crime branch team that visited Goa for investigation has returned. Crime branch superintendent of police K Philip has disclosed that the bones and other things recovered by them would be subjected to advanced forensic tests including DNA tests, after being produced in the court. The crime branch officials opined that the case might have to be transferred to the Goa police as the crime was committed in that state. The bones recovered by the team have already been confirmed as belonging to Safiya by the forensic expert Dr Sherley Vasu and police academy chief biologist Annamma John, who also found that the bones bear deep gashes made by sharp weapons.
The crime branch is not yet prepared to fully buy the story Hamza has unfolded so far. They are particularly unhappy about the reason that led him to commit this gory crime. Hamza had said that he killed Safiya after hot gruel fell on her body and she started suffering acutely, to ensure that no one else comes to know of the incident. He also had confessed to have committed sexual assault on Safiya before cutting her into pieces. The crime branch said it wants to subject Hamza to intensive questioning to bring out the true facts and also to book all those involved with covering up this offence.
The experts in the team confirmed that besides cutting Safiya's body into three pieces, traces of an attempt having been made to slit her abdomen were found. They are yet to find reasons for this act too. The team said, it had to remove a huge quantity of mud to extricate the bones.
Crime branch superintendent of police also revealed the locals from near the dam site threatened the team when it was trying to dig out the mortal remains of Safiya. The locals are said to have asked the team to entrust the work to Goa police and that they do not need Kerala police there.