Two persons were arrested on Satuday by Gujarat’s Ahmedabad crime branch in connection with a 34-year-old murder case a day after DNA profiling confirmed the identity of skeletal remains recovered from Vatva, officials said.
Deputy commissioner of police (Crime) Ajit Rajiyan said the DNA report, received on Friday established that the remains belonged to Farzana Dosu Radhanpuri, bringing a breakthrough in a case dating back to 1992.
Those arrested are Shamshuddin Khedawala (61) and his elder brother Iqbal Khedawala (63). DCP Rajiyan said the accused’s family initially claimed that Shamshuddin was dead and tried to mislead the probe.
During questioning, they admitted the claim was false and confirmed that he was alive, following which the investigation was intensified.
A First Information Report (FIR) was registered for the 1992 case at the detection of crime branch (DCB) police station, Ahmedabad, under sections 302 (murder), 201 (destruction of evidence) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.
According to the FIR, Farzana was married to the prime accused, Shamshuddin. During the marriage, repeated disputes arose between them.
Police said these disputes escalated and led to a pre-planned conspiracy to kill her.
Shamshuddin, along with his elder brother Iqbal and co-accused Abdul Karim and Shaliyabibi Pathan, allegedly planned and carried out the murder.
Police said the murder happened in 1992, after which the accused disposed of the body within a concealed structure at a residential property in Qutubnagar, Vatva.
The FIR says that the body was thrown into a pit-like structure and buried to destroy evidence, which allowed the crime to remain undetected for decades.
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The case was initially registered as a missing person complaint and did not progress further at the time.
It resurfaced when members of the accused’s family reported repeated sightings of the deceased, leading to fear and mental distress. They approached persons offering occult remedies, during which information emerged that a woman had been killed and her body concealed inside the property.
The crime branch identified the house in Qutubnagar, which locals had long described as abandoned and “haunted”.
Excavation using heavy machinery in the presence of forensic teams recovered skeletal remains, including bones and teeth from a depth of about 18 to 20 feet, and was sent for examination.
Following enquiries with locals, the police traced victim’s family to Dholka taluka, where her brother, Liyakat Ali, revealed she had been missing for 35 years.
The remains were sent to the forensic department of B.J. Medical College for examination. DNA profiling matched the remains with blood samples provided by Farzana’s sister Mehbooba, establishing her identity.
Evidence indicates death by strangulation using a rope or wire, said DCP Rajiyan.
