KASARGOD: The three accused in the Mangalore twin murder case were produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court here on Tuesday, which remanded them for 14 days. Mangalore Pandeshwaram police have sought the custody of the accused for interrogation.
The knife used for the murder and the vehicle used for transporting the bodies have also been recovered by the police.
The accused, Munafar Sanaf, 25, Muhammed Irshad, 24, and Muhammed Safwan, 23, all hailing from the district, were arrested on Monday. Munafar Sanaf is the son of a prominent criminal lawyer.
The deceased are Fahim, 25, of Thrikkovil Palli near Kuttichira, Kozhikode, and Nafir, 24, of Seytharpalli, Thalassery.
The Mangalore City Crime Squad exhumed the bodies of the victims from Kundankuzhi in Kasargod on Monday. According to sources, Nafir was an active gold smuggler. He had brought 3kg of gold from the Gulf to Bangalore last November for a third person, and decamped with the gold. He later left for Goa and asked his friend Fahim to meet him there. Both of them stayed in Goa for a couple of months.
In the meantime, they met Sanaf and became friends with him. Nafir told Sanaf about the gold and they decided to sell it with the help of Sanaf’s friends Irshad and Safwan. After selling 2.5 kg of the gold for `70 lakh, they led a luxurious life in Goa and various other places.
Meanwhile, the owner of the smuggled gold was searching for them. Once, Nafir made a call to this person from Sanaf’s phone. He called Sanaf back and demanded the gold.
This prompted the five to think of sharing the remaining gold and the money, but Nafir was not ready for that. Fahim seconded Nafir. Sanaf, Irshad and Safwan then decided to kill Fahim and Nafir and also to give back the money and the gold to the real owner who was searching for them.
The murder took place in a rented house at Attavar in Mangalore around 11 am on July 1. All of them watched the World Cup football match until the wee hours of July 1 and went to sleep only at 6 in the morning. Nafir and Fahim slept in two different rooms which made the job easier for the trio. They slit the necks of the victims in sleep and took the bodies to Kundankuzhi in Kasargod where they buried them.
The youths’ neighbours at Attavar were suspicious over their actions and informed the police. The locals had suspected that they had terrorist links. By the time the police reached the house, the trio had left for Kasargod. When they came back after burying the bodies, the police were waiting for them. The police noticed blood stains on the floor. On further questioning, they confessed to the crime. The officials have also seized the gold including that was sold off.
“The name of the owner of the gold, and the relationship between the accused and their landlord at Attavar are yet to be found out. We have got some clues but can’t reveal them just yet,” said R Hitendra, Mangalore City Police Commissioner.