KOCHI: A Changanassery native allegedly murdered by her boyfriend in Kaloor in August actually died of self-inflicted wounds! This was what Koyilandy native Naushid P A, who is in custody for stabbing his girlfriend Reshma Ravi, 27, to death, claimed in the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court when his bail petition came up for hearing recently. The court, however, dismissed the plea after examining the woman’s autopsy report which said she was brutally tortured.
Naushid had invited Reshma to the hotel in Kaloor where he worked as a caretaker on August 8 and killed her following an argument, said the police. He stabbed Reshma multiple times using a sharp knife. Prior to this, he took the video of the argument between them. Naushid was arrested the same day.
However, Naushid informed the court that he neither murdered Reshma nor had any intention to kill her. He said she ended her life by injuring herself. His lawyer B A Aloor argued that Naushid was arrested without following legal procedure. Aloor said Naushid had taken Reshma to the hospital and informed the police about the incident.
Objecting to Naushid’s bail plea, the public prosecutor submitted that the injuries suffered by the deceased revealed the brutality of the crime. As per the prosecutor, Naushid was involved in a murder attempt case registered at Aluva police station in 2021. He had also assaulted Akhilan, a common friend, under misconception that Reshma was in an affair with him, the prosecutor said.
The autopsy report, examined by Judge Honey M Varghese said there were 25 injuries on Reshma’s body and the cause of death was incised wounds on her neck.
“The injuries reveal the deceased suffered incised wounds mainly on the left side, on the back of the neck or its base,” she said, observing that the injuries will void the contentions of the petitioner’s counsel that they were self-inflicted and that the deceased might have died by suicide.
She also noted that the petitioner, on account of prior enmity, took the victim to his residential room and committed the alleged murder. “Having regarded the gravity of the allegations coupled with the criminal antecedents against the petitioner, I am of the view that the petitioner is not entitled to get bail at this stage,” the judge said.