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Safiya murder: accused sent to police custody

KASARAGOD: The Kasaragod Judicial First Class Magistrate Court has sent the main accused in the Safiya murder case K.C. Hamsa to police custody till July 9.

Mr. Hamsa was arrested by a team from the Crime Branch of the State police on Tuesday and produced before the court on Wednesday evening. The court also remanded Mimuna, wife of Mr. Hamsa and co-accused in the case, in judicial custody till July 15.

Workers of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) staged a march to the court premises in the morning on Wednesday anticipating that Mr. Hamsa would be produced in the court in the morning. The police blocked them a few meters from the court complex.

Superintendent of Police, Crime Branch, K.P. Philip, who led the investigation team, said the police had zeroed in on other suspects in the case and they would be arrested in the coming days.

Mr. Philip had announced the arrest of Mr. Hamsa on Tuesday. He had revealed that Mr. Hamsa, in whose home in Goa Ms. Safiya had been employed as a maid servant, had confessed to the crime. Mr. Hamsa had told the police that Ms. Safiya had suffered serious burn injuries while working in the kitchen because of a lapse on his part and as he feared that the victim had died he cut her body into pieces and disposed it.

The crime occurred more than 18 months ago. Ever since, Mr. Hamsa had been maintaining that Ms. Safiya disappeared from his home at Masthikund. The parents of Ms. Safiya had dismissed the claim.

The Adhoor police, which had investigated the case, dismissed the doubts that Ms. Safiya had been killed. Following that, an action council was formed which started agitations demanding the arrest of those who were responsible for the disappearance of Ms. Safiaya. The parents of Ms. Safiya, Moithu and Aayisha, started an indefinite fast in Kasaragod demanding that the police take steps to bring out the truth behind the disappearance.

The agitation forced the political leadership to intervene in the issue and the Home Minister ordered a reinvestigation by the Crime Branch. Meanwhile, assistant sub-inspector at Adhoor police station P.N. Gopalakrishnan was suspended for destroying evidences in the case.

Leaders of the action council said that they did not believe the story that Ms. Safiya had been killed accidentally. Ambalathara Kunhikrishnan, chairman of the action council, said the secrecy shrouding the whole issue had not been unravelled and added that there might be a racket behind the murder. According to him, the killing of Ms. Safiya should be read together with the disappearance of several maid girls from the district. More investigation was needed into the issue, he said.

Mr. Moithu also echoed the same opinion. He demanded that the police file a case without loopholes.

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