THIRUVANANTHAPURAM/PATHANAMTHITTA: In a new twist to the two-year-old case related to the missing of Pathanamthitta native Noushad, 36, who was traced to Thodupuzha last Friday, his wife Afsana has alleged brutal torture by the police and said she was forced to falsely confess to his murder. The police have rejected her charges.
Afsana, who had claimed to have murdered him and was subsequently booked and jailed, was released from the Women’s Prison at Attakulangara in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday a day after the Pathanamthitta Judicial First Class Magistrate Court granted her bail.
“I never faced such a beating in my life. I am unable to stand for a long time,” Afsana told reporters at her home in Nooranad, Alappuzha. “They kept asking me what happened to Noushad and I kept saying I did not know. After that, they forced me to say what they wanted, I confessed on their demand. They threatened me that I will not see my kids ever again and that my father will be arraigned in the case. I have only my parents and kids,” Afsana said.
She said went to all the places for evidence collection as per their demand. “I was completely unaware that the police had charged me with murder,” Afsana said. She alleged that the police did not give her food and water for two days. “They didn’t allow me to sleep throughout the night. They even sprayed pepper spray on my face and in my mouth. Unable to bear it all, I finally confessed,” she said. Afsana said she would file a complaint with the chief minister alleging that the police tortured her.
Konni DySP T Rajappan said all the allegations levelled by her were baseless. “We have video of her giving the statements. There are witnesses too. Her allegations are completely false,” Rajappan said.
On July 25, Tuesday, Afsana had told the Koodal police during interrogation that she had murdered Noushad and buried his mutilated body parts on the premises of their rented house near Paruthippara in Erathu grama panchayat.
While this was happening, Noushad was at Thommankuthu in Thodupuzha unaware of everything. He was traced by a senior civil police officer on duty at the Thodupuzha DySP office on Friday. The police said Noushad didn’t contact his family or friends since his ‘disappearance’ and did not use a mobile phone.