3 convicted in 2014 double murder case

Mangaluru: Bringing an end to a decade-old case, a first additional district and sessions court in Mangaluru on Monday convicted three men for the double murder of two young men, one of whom was allegedly a gold carrier.

Judge Mallikarjuna Swamy HS pronounced that Mohammed Mahjeer Sanaf, 25, Mohammed Irshad, 24, and Mohammed Safwan, 24, from Kasaragod were guilty under IPC sections 120(B) (criminal conspiracy), 302 (murder), and 201 (destruction of evidence), read with Section 34. The hearing on their sentence will be held on Wednesday.

The case, which dates back to 2014, revolves around a high-stakes fallout over smuggled gold. Nafeer, 24, from Thalassery, believed to be a gold carrier, and his friend Faheem, 25, from Kozhikode, were working abroad when the latter allegedly smuggled about 3kg of gold from Dubai to Mangaluru. Instead of handing it over to the intended party, he allegedly sold the consignment and earned nearly Rs 73 lakh with help from the now-convicted trio.

The accused used part of the proceeds to purchase 10 cents in Bedadka village, Kasaragod, under Safwan's name, according to public prosecutor Judith OM Crasta. On this property, they dug pits for planting coconut saplings as well as to the bury Nafeer and Faheem.

On June 15, 2014, Sanaf, Irshad and Safwan rented a house behind Umamaheshwara Temple in Attavar, Mangaluru. They brought Nafeer and Faheem to the house under the guise of friendship and on July 1, they killed the duo over a financial dispute.

The trio then tried to erase all traces of the crime, Judith said. The accused drained the victims' blood, tied the bodies, stuffed them into plastic gunny bags and buried them in the pre-dug pit in the Bedadka property. They scrubbed the house clean, dumped one mattress into the Chandragiri river in Kasaragod, and prepared to burn the remaining bedding after cutting it into small pieces and packing into plastic bags. They had purchased petrol for it.

But fate had other plans. Locals grew suspicious and tipped off police, and inspector Valentine D'Souza, intercepted the car they were travelling near Mahakalipadpu. The accused were arrested and the buried bodies were exhumed, and about 2.5kg of gold, allegedly sold to a jeweller and another 200 grams from Sanaf's residence were recovered.

The court examined 47 witnesses, 97 documents, and marked 79 material objects.