Naaz’s family in Uzbekistan refuses to believe she is dead

Naaz was the prime suspect in the murder of Shokhista’s daughter Shakhnoza, who had gone missing in September and whose body was found in a field near Sonepat later.
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Shakhnoza’s family had on Thursday submitted a letter written by Naaz, describing her journey into forced prostitution in the national capital, to the police. The discovery of the latter’s body by the Delhi Police had left the Shukurovas shocked.

It was almost a year ago that Naaz first arrived in Delhi and met Shakhnoza at a local beauty salon. They hit it off instantly and went on to become great friends, recalled Shokhista, who visited her daughter often and lived with her in an apartment in Kishangarh.

Having spent seven years in Delhi, Shakhnoza alias Shahnaz was well-settled and was the one Naaz turned to for help every now and then.

“A few months after her arrival, Naaz took an apartment in the same building where my sister lived. They were good friends and Naaz often turned to her for help. It was so difficult for us to believe that Naaz could have killed Shakhnoza… now the police claim that Naaz is dead… we find that hard to believe,” Nadira, Shakhnoza’s sister, told The Indian Express.

“Naaz came from a modest family and needed financial help. My sister, out of the goodness of her heart, never turned her down,” she said.
“My sister loved gold jewellery and bought several pieces for my mother and also for us. Once, when Naaz saw my mother wearing some pretty gold bangles and earrings, she wanted to borrow them. My mother gave them to her but she did not return them even after months. My mother politely told her that if she liked them so much she could keep them and pay Shakhnoza instead,” Nadira recalled.

“This was just one such incident. Naaz would keep borrowing money or expensive items, never to return them. She was in debt because of this,” she said.
Late on Thursday, as the family sat recalling bits of information about Shakhnoza’s friends and acquaintances, they also tried to think of ways to reach Naaz, who went absconding soon after Shakhnoza’s abduction and murder.

“She must be in Goa. They send a lot of the girls to Goa too. They will find her there,” Zamika, Shakhnoza’s sister, thought aloud repeatedly.
However, Nadira was the only one who thought Naaz may also have been killed and her worst fears came true on Friday morning.
Hours later, the Delhi Police called the family to ask for details of Naaz’s family.

“We have given the police contact details of Naaz’s family and called them ourselves too. But the family just refused to believe us. We have asked them to come over to Delhi,” said Nadira.

Shokhista said she had found a letter written by Naaz to the Embassy of Uzbekistan, asking for help to get out of a prostitution racket she had been forced into.

The letter, dated November 25, 2014, was written in Uzbek and allegedly blamed Gurvinder alias Gagan and his wife Masha, an Uzbek national.
“I am asking you to help me. I want to live with my husband. If something threatening my life happens to me while I am in India, I am asking to blame Masha and her husband Gurvinder (Gagan) (sic),” Naaz had allegedly concluded in the letter.

The Shukurovas said they got the letter translated by a professional translator and handed over a copy to the Delhi Police and the Embassy.
Hours later, they were informed that Naaz’s charred body had been found in Uttar Pradesh’s Hapur district.Naaz was the prime suspect in the murder of Shakhnoza, her close friend in Delhi, who was allegedly killed due to a dispute over money.