A Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by District Police Chief (Kozhikode rural) R. Karappasami on Friday confirmed the death of Panthirikkara native K. Irshad Nazar, who was abducted by a gold smuggling gang three weeks ago. The 26-year-old’s death was confirmed on the basis of a DNA test.
The case witnessed an unexpected twist when two of the previously arrested persons, Jinad Mohammed Kutty, 31, and Shaheel Haneefa, 26, reportedly revealed to the police that Irshad jumped into a river near Koyilandy in an attempt to escape from their custody. Further verification of the puzzling statement helped the SIT check in detail a recent unnatural death case in the area and quickly crack the mystery behind the latest incident.
In the detailed probe, it was found that the body of Irshad, recovered from the Kadaloor river in a decomposed state on July 17, was mistakenly cremated by another family after confusing his remains with those of another missing man named Deepak from Kozhikode’s Meppayur village. Both of them had similar physical features that reportedly misled the family and ended their search for Deepak. Police sources said there was no clue yet about Deepak.
“Since circumstantial evidence and statements related to the case were trustworthy, we were recommending a DNA test after collecting samples from Irshad’s parents and matching it with the cremated body. It was on July 28 that the Peruvannamuzhi police registered a man missing case and started searching for him,” said a police officer now part of the investigation.
He said the probe would soon expose all those involved in the incident.
It was on May 13 that Irshad, who was working in Dubai, reached Kerala. He was abducted by the gang of gold smugglers on July 17 as part of their attempts to recover some smuggled gold ornaments that he allegedly carried for a third party from Dubai to Kerala. Though Irshad claimed of handing over the illegally brought goods to the intended party, the smugglers’ gang was not reportedly ready to buy his argument.
According to Irshad’s parents, the gang was endangering him in the name of a fraud deal. They had also feared untoward incidents after they received multiple life-threatening calls against their son on WhatsApp. Though they had handed over the records of all such calls and other details to the investigation team, the police were failing to make any breakthrough even after a week-long intensified investigation.
Criticism surfaced against the local police who allegedly cold-shouldered the case at the initial stage. Some of the local residents said his life could have been saved if the police were able to act on time noticing the missing incident on July 17 itself. Social media posts were circulated widely, questioning the alleged flaws in the first stage of the investigation.
