54-year-old spends 38 days in prison after police book him for harbouring prime accused in kidnap and murder of two students
54-year-old spends 38 days in prison after police book him for harbouring prime accused in kidnap and murder of two students
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Masked Assassins? The police had arrested six members of a cultural
organisation in the abduction and murder case. File pic
Ironically, Khaleel, who works as a crane operator for a construction company in Dubai, was picked up by city Crime Branch sleuths on July 6 in connection with a crime committed by his son Naveed Ahmed. The police maintained that Khaleel is aware of the whereabouts of Naveed, who is a prime accused in the kidnap and murder of two students in Mysore on June 8.
Khaleel had landed in Mysore on June 24 and was picked up from his house on July 6 by a police team led by Assistant Commissioner of Police B N Nyame and taken for questioning.
Something amiss?
The police had also picked up Najmunnisa, Khaleel's wife, and his daughter and grilled them at the local police station for several hours. Their mobile phones were also confiscated, following which they were released.
"When I visited my husband at the Bangalore Central Prison, I came to know that on June 8, a case was registered by the Hunsur police against 12 persons, of whom six were arrested. The rest were shown as absconding," Najmunnisa said.
"The kidnapping and murder occurred on June 8 and a few accused were arrested and produced before the court on June 22. My husband had booked his ticket to Bangalore on May 16 for the night of June 23. Accordingly, he was to reach Bangalore on June 24. This clearly shows that the police are trying to implicate innocent persons," Najmunnisa alleged.
Not adding up
Anees Ali Khan, Khaleel's counsel, said, "If at all Khaleel was one of the conspirators as claimed by the police, then how come he booked his flight ticket a month early and landed in Mysore, 16 days after the crime?"
Joint Commissioner of Police (crime) Alok Kumar said, "Khaleel is booked for harbouring a criminal and we are convinced that he is aware of Naveed's whereabouts. The family is in regular touch with him and is hoodwinking us. Since we were lenient towards the female members of the family, we have decided to book the father," he said.
Case background
Naveed was booked for kidnapping Sudhindra and Vignesh, second year BBM students of Mahajan College, Mysore, and demanding ransom. The accused called the victim's parents from a public phone booth later in the evening demanding a ransom of Rs 5 crore. However, their bodies were later found at Chikkaballapur bypass road on June 8.
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