In a curious twist to an investigation into a burglary case that took place about three weeks ago at Mukkatta, near Nilambur, the police stumbled upon a startling revelation of a gruesome murder of an ethnic healer from Mysuru by a gang from Nilambur.
Shaba Sharif, 60, a traditional healer from Rajiv Nagar, Mysuru, who specialised in piles treatment, was found to have been abducted, persecuted for over a year and murdered by a gang led by Shaibin Ashraf. Sharif’s body was butchered into pieces and thrown into the river Chaliyar from Seethi Haji bridge at Edavanna in October 2020.
Sharif had been missing since August 2, 2019, and the Karnataka police were investigating.
The Kerala police investigating the burglary that took place at industrialist Ashraf’s house at Mukkatta had a serendipitous detection of the murder that took place nearly two years ago. Interestingly, Ashraf, the burglary complainant, was found to be the key murder accused.
The police said that a split in the gang that killed the Mysuru healer led to the unraveling of the murder. Three members of the gang, Sakeer, Noushad and Saleem, had staged a self immolation bid in front of the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram on April 29 apparently to grab the attention of the authorities. The trio had broken into Ashraf’s house and stolen Rs. 3 lakh and a computer. Fearing an attack from Ashraf, they staged the immolation bid and grabbed the attention of the police.
The murder was unraveled when the police questioned them and took Ashraf into custody. The police said the gang led by Ashraf abducted Sharif in 2019 and detained him at Ashraf’s house at Mukkatta. Ashraf wanted the formula of a medicine the Mysuru healer used for piles treatment. The sexagenarian healer was reportedly chained in the room for over a year and tortured, but he did not share the formula.
The police said the healer was killed on October 20, 2020, during the torture. The gang chopped his body into pieces and threw them into the river the next day.
The police said four members of the gang, including leader Ashraf, were taken into custody. District Police Chief Sujit Das S. said more men were involved in the abduction and torture, and the police were investigating.
