A DAY after a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team and Crime Branch personnel found fragments of bone, teeth and hair at a depth of 20 feet in a septic tank under a derelict, abandoned home in the Vatva area of Ahmedabad, believed to be the last remains of 18-year-old Farzana alias Shabnam, who was suspected to have been strangled to death 34 years ago in 1992, the primary suspect in her “murder”, her husband, Shamshuddin Khedawala, has been traced by the police.
This is a major development in the case as the Crime Branch had been earlier led to believe that Shamshuddin was dead.
A senior officer, however, confirmed to the Indian Express on Thursday that Shamshuddin had been living incognito and that his family had allegedly lied to the police to shield him from the inquiry into the three-decade-old case.
Farzana is suspected to have been killed and buried in the septic tank of a house in Vatva by her husband and three others.
ACP Bharat Patel of the Ahmedabad Crime Branch said, “We believe that at least four people were involved in Farzana’s murder. These include her husband Shamshuddin Khedawala, his elder brother Iqbal Khedawala, his friend Abdul Kareem and the then house owner Salyabibi. Of these four suspects, while Shamshuddin and his brother Iqbal are alive, Abdul and Salyabibi are deceased.”
On the events of the suspected crime itself, ACP Patel said, “One night, Shamshuddin and Farzana went to stay in Salyabibi’s home as part of the conspiracy. Imran and Abdul kept the khaarkuva (septic tank) ready. After Farzana went to sleep, she was strangled to death and buried in the septic tank and it was then filled over and Abdul Kareem even plastered the house to hide the evidence.”
ACP Patel added, “We learnt that an eyewitness had reached the spot at the time of the murder and he saw the crime. He was threatened with death if he mentioned it anywhere else. Since he was scared and because he did not know Farzana , he kept quiet about it for more than three decades.”
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There was neither a missing person report nor an investigation into her disappearance more than 34 years ago – in 1992, or since. At least till February this year, when the Crime Branch opened an inquiry into her possible murder after claims of “curses, ghosts, apparitions and visions” led to police deeming it necessary to at least take a cursory look into the family.
This has now turned into a full-blown investigation against multiple suspects, including Farzana’s husband Shamshuddin Khedawala, his elder brother Iqbal Khedawala, his friend Abdul Kareem and the owner of house number 10 – Salyabibi – for conspiracy, murder and destruction of evidence as well as criminal intimidation of a possible eyewitness. The FIR in this case will be filed after the FSL reports confirm that the remains found under the house were indeed that of Farzana by comparing it with the blood of her sibling, a brother who was traced to Mumbai.
‘Disowned’ by family, murdered over her ‘profession’
Meanwhile, the inquiry has answered one crucial question. How did Farzana’s disappearance and suspected murder remain undetected and unreported for more than three decades? The answer, it turns out, was her alleged profession and the eventual “banishment” from the family that disowned her.
ACP Bharat Patel of the Crime Branch said, “We learnt that the name of the woman is Farzana and she was originally from Dholka town in Rural Ahmedabad. We found out that when she was 17-18 years old, she was married to a man in Surat. Within a year, she went back to her parental home. Over time, she became a paid sex worker and her family broke ties with her and so she came to Ahmedabad. In Ahmedabad, she met Shamshuddin and later married him at his insistence. But there was constant marital strife because Farzana continued her profession. But she wasn’t willing to leave Shamshuddin. So, he and three others decided that Farzana had to be killed.”
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On how her disappearance remained an enduring mystery for more than three decades after her suspected death, ACP Patel said, “Farzana’s paternal family had no relations with her because of their reputation being dented due to her profession. It was not important for them as to her well-being or whereabouts. They had considered her dead when she left the house.”
The disowning of Farzana was so extreme that the Ahmedabad City Police have no records of even a missing person report being filed by the family even years after Farzana stopped communicating with her family. Sources told The Indian Express that at some point, her brother may have contacted Shamshuddin to ask her whereabouts but was not given a clear answer.
How did police reach the house?
“Originally, we just had this much information that there was a house 10 in Qutubnagar where a woman was suspected to have been murdered and buried 34 years ago. We looked for the house and found the exact property because that is the only house where nobody had been living for the past 5-6 years. We learnt that the house belonged to Salyabibi, who is deceased. She had sold the house to someone else and we spoke to the new owner as well. Then we learnt that neighbours said people can’t stay in the house due to some issues and so nobody was ready to stay there,” said ACP Patel.
After confirmation of the location, the DCB, FSL and the Executive Magistrate found human remains at a depth of 20 feet. Farzana’s brother has been called to give DNA for matching with samples collected from the human remains.
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When asked about the “paranormal” events, ACP Patel said, “Neighbours said that tenants couldn’t live in the house for long and that there was a claim that the ‘spirit’ wouldn’t leave them alone. Our aim is to find out the victim and her murderers. The hearsay is not of our concern.”
