Contract killers behind murder of dean, wife: cops

Kanyakumari Superintendent of Police Santosh Kumar told The Indian Express that Shahul Hameed, Khadijah’s brother, was the last person seen with the couple. He is said to be absconding. The SP said 35 persons, including relatives, friends, neighbours and acquaintances of the couple had been questioned. “Investigations are on as to who did it and why. It is definitely a murder. There is no doubt about it,” he said.

Six special teams have fanned across the state, with two said to be in Chennai. The murder has provided grist for the local media which has gone to town with speculations about the contract killers having been paid a few crores of rupees to carry out the killing. The sensational media reports have, however, prompted the district police to remain tightlipped on the issue. There are talks that the police is likely to present the accused before the media soon.

The gruesome murder of the reputed professor, a recipient of the Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship Award, and said to be a close friend of former President A P J Adbul Kalam, has sent shockwaves across Nagercoil. Only a few months back, Dr Kalam had released Prof Mohammed’s book on Hinduism and Sufism, titled Foundation of the Composite Culture in India.

A well-known Hindi scholar, Prof Mohammed was on various committees and was also the Vice Chancellor of the Dakshin Bharath Hindi Prachar Sabha and chairman of Commission for Scientific Terminology. He also served as a member of Advisory Committee of Railway Board and member of Central Government Commission for making Hindi a workable language and various other programmes for propagation of Hindi.

The couple lived in their palatial bungalow, spread out on a 7000-sq ft land. According to the police, the professor was “not a very social person, and was an introvert.” Khadijah was said to be more talkative, often interacting with the neighbours. The murder has stumped the police as no valuables were taken from the house. According to some neighbours, the professor was last seen throwing the car keys from the first floor of his bungalow to the driver.

The police learnt of the murder when the professor’s children were unable to reach them over telephone. When police came knocking on the door, a foul smell emanated from the house, causing suspicion. The couple is survived by four daughters and one son.