Edappal: Even after hours of long search in an abandoned well, police did not get any clue on the murder of Edappal native Irshad.
Irshad, 24, son of Edappal Pandavur Kizhakelavallapil Haneefa, was cheated of lakhs of rupees and murdered by a two-member gang who promised him to offer a panchaloha idol. The murder which was planned in Drishyam style was unraveled only after six months of scientific investigation. The first accused Subhash (35), who is a temple poojari, and the second accused Ebin (27) had committed the murder and executed a well-designed plan to destroy the evidence.
On June 11, 2020, Irshad was taken in a rented car from Padinjarangadi to a place in Vattamkulam. For giving the panchaloha idol to Irshad, Subhash conducted a pooja at a lodge at Vattamkulam. They tricked Irshad saying that when the idol is being brought he must undergo a transformation and told him to inhale a liquid through an inhaler. The duo had infact given a person named Rajan Rs 25,000 to supply chloroform to them. But Rajan cheated them and gave them a non-chloroform liquid. When this liquid was inhaled by Irshad, he did not fall unconscious.
The duo then tried to inject the liquid into Irshad and even that did not yield any result. Finally they removed the silencer of the bike and hit him on his head. When he became unconscious, they strangled him to death. The same day, they packed the body in a sack and dumped it in an abandoned well.
After having bath and cleaning the car, they threw the weapons used for the murder in various places. They switched off Irshad’s phone and left for Kozhikode. When they reached Kozhikode, the duo switched on Irshad’s phone and sent a message to his family through WhatsApp saying he is in Kozhikode. Later the phone was switched off and the SIM was removed. They threw the SIM and phone in two different places.
Though the police investigated the case, the culprits thought that they were safe as the phone location showed Kozhikode. They also reached Irshad’s place to enquire about his death. Even during investigation, they feigned innocence and told police their story.
SIM turned crucial
Edappal: What turned crucial in the case was a phone number which police recovered from Irshad’s phone call list. The number was taken by the first accused in the name of Irshad.
This number had only three phone numbers stored namely that of the duo and Irshad and also that of Rajan who supplied the chloroform. Following a detailed probe and scientific examination, police made the second accused confess to the crime.
