Separate investigations into cases of burglary and self-immolation bid by three men have led Kerala Police to crack the murder of a traditional medicine healer from Mysuru, who had gone missing from the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram two years ago, officials said.
Five people have been arrested and a hunt is on for four others in connection with the murder of Shaba Shareef, who was allegedly abducted and tortured for refusing to share his healing techniques with the accused, Mallapuram superintendent of police (SP) S Sujith Das said.
Providing details, Das said Shareef (60), who ran his clinic on the outskirts of the city, was allegedly abducted by eight men in August 2019 and held captive for 16 months at the house of one Shabin Ashraf in Nilambur. While Shareef’s family had filed a missing complaint with Sarawatipura police station immediately after his disappearance, police found no leads to solve the case, he said.
While he was held captive, Shareef was reportedly tortured and assaulted by Ashraf and the eight men who tried to get information on his healing techniques which were popular for treating piles. Ashraf wanted to start a traditional healing centre and had promised a partnership to the other eight accused, the SP said.
The healer, however, refused to share any details even as he was starved for several days and ultimately died due to the torture. His body was allegedly dismembered before it was dumped into Chaliyar river at Edavanna in Malappuram district, he added.
With Shareef’s death, the gang’s plan of opening a healing centre fell apart. Its members also gradually fell out with each other and on April 24, four of them burgled Ashraf’s house in Wayanad district. In his complaint at Sulthan Bathery police station, Ashraf said ₹7 lakh, gold worth ₹10 lakh and laptops were stolen from his house.
Two days later, one of the accused – T Ashraf – was arrested from the district.
On April 28, three other members of the gang – Shihabuddin, M Noushad and Zakeer – travelled to the state capital, 465 kilometres away from Sulthan Bathery, and attempted to immolate themselves outside the state secretariat. On being overpowered by police, the trio claimed they were duped by Ashraf and that he was planning to kill them.
The trio also informed police about the healer’s killing and handed over a pendrive, which contained purported videos of the torture which was meted out to him.
Five members of the gang were arrested last week. Efforts are on to trace the remaining accused, police said.
“We have started a detailed investigation into Ashraf’s antecedents. Details of his source of income and property are in question. We suspect the gang members may have been involved in other such cases in the neighbouring states as well,” the SP said.
“Finding the (healer’s) body is a challenge but we will investigate the case scientifically and ensure maximum punishment to the accused. Shareef’s family members have identified him in the videos which the accused had saved in a pendrive,” he added.
