The Hindu : Couple, four others held on murder charge

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 22, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Couple, four others held on murder charge

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, FEB. 21. The Jeedimetla police on Saturday unravelled the mystery behind the murder of V. Bhoomaiah and Narasimha Murthy, with the arrest of a couple and four hired assassins on charges of committing the crime.

Investigations revealed that the murders were a fall-out of a financial dispute between Bhoomaiah and the couple, Ishaq and Sana, the Cyberabad Police Commissioner, M. Mahender Reddy, told a press conference here. "It was unfortunate that Narasimha Murthy, who was in no way connected, was also killed by the accused as he accompanied Bhoomaiah to the Ishaq's house," Mr. Reddy said. An employee of Cox and Kings Travel Agents, Ishaq, and his wife, Sana, a process executive with HSBC, were residents of Tolichowki.

Mr. Reddy said Ishaq was in a financial mess and the couple had become bankrupt after Sana had raised several loans from the HSBC and was unable to clear them.

Ishaq had met Bhoomaiah's son, Pavan Kumar, in 2000. He took Rs. 10,000 from Pavan assuring him of a job in a multi-national company. He reportedly collected similar amounts from three others.

Subsequently, he introduced Sana to Pavan and the duo allegedly collected Rs. 1.25 lakhs from Pavan promising him a job in HSBC. However, Bhoomaiah, a senior assistant in the co-operative department in Nizamabad district, pressurised the couple to return the money as they failed to secure a job for his son.

Having no money to repay, Ishaq initially hatched a plan to eliminate Pavan and contacted one, Khadeer of Petlaburuz, and paid him Rs. 6,000 for the job. Pavan was then staying in Vijayawada. However, the plan failed when the jeep in which Khadeer and his associates were travelling to Vijayawada met with an accident.

Subsequently, Khadeer, along with Mir Majid Ali, Mohammed Moinuddin, Shaik Asgar and Syed Amjad, met Ishaq at his house and struck a deal to eliminate Pavan and Bhoomaiah for Rs. 10,000 each. On February 15, Ishaq asked Pavan to go to Vizag stating that he had arranged a job for him there. Pavan went to Vizag but could not find the job.

Meanwhile, on February 18, Bhoomaiah, and his friend, Narasimha Swamy, also an employee of cooperative department at Hyderabad, went to Ishaq's house for the money. Ishaq meanwhile alerted Khader.

Even as Bhoomaiah and Narasimha Swamy were waiting, Khader, and his men entered the flat posing as electricians. While Sana was in the kitchen, they reportedly strangulated the duo to death with a wire.

Later, they shifted the bodies to an isolated place in Srikrishna Nagar of Jeedimetla in a Maruti van, and set them afire. "Sana played a key role in the conspiracy. She travelled in the van along with Ishaq while shifting the bodies," Mr. Reddy said. The police got the first clue when Pavan, on his return from Vizag, suspected Ishaq.

Except, Khader, all the six accused were arrested. The Inspectors Kishtaiah (Jeedimetla) and Sudarshan (Medchal) investigated the case, under the supervision of Alwal ACP, P. Rama Rao.

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