BHOPAL: A 50-year-old man who had spent 13 years in jail for murdering his two wives in 2010 has been arrested by Madhya Pradesh police for desecrating the graves of several women in the communally sensitive Khandwa district to perform a Tantric ritual.
The accused, identified as Ayub Khan (50), is a native of Mundwara village under Jawar police station area of Khandwa district.
Ayub was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly tampering with the graves of at least six women at the Bada Kabristan graveyard in Khandwa city and another graveyard in Sihada village. He had desecrated the graves on the night of May 19 and later on September 22.
Investigations revealed that Ayub held a superstitious belief that performing a Tantric ritual with the hair of dead women would enhance his strength.
Khandwa district police superintendent Manoj told TNIE that Ayub was released from Indore Central Jail around five months back.
"[The accused] has admitted to committing the three offences of tampering with the graves of women at Bada Kabristan and Sihada Kabristan on Amavasya (No Moon) nights, first on May 19 and recently on September 22," the SI further said.
Police inquiry revealed that Ayub had murdered his two wives at separate places in Khandwa in 2010, and two separate murder cases were lodged against him at the Moghat Road Police Station. He was later convicted by the court and awarded 20 years of rigorous imprisonment. During his time at the Indore Central Jail, a fellow inmate had told him about a Tantric ritual that would help him increase his strength and power; the ritual required the hair of dead women and must be conducted on a No Moon night.
Owing to good conduct inside the jail, Ayub had been released from jail five months back, after which he did a recce of the two graveyards during the day to identify the graves of women, which he would revisit on May 19, a No Moon night, and dig up.
While the police were initially unable to track the perpetrator of the May 19 cases related to tampering of six graves at Bada Kabristan and the Sihada Kabristan over the next four months, CCTV cameras were installed at those graveyards.
On September 22, another No Moon night, Ayub had returned to the graveyards and tamper two more graves. This time, he was caught in the act by the CCTVs placed in the graveyard.
Working on the case, the cops managed to identify the accused and arrested him on Tuesday.
The CCTV footage of Bada Kabristan graveyard showed an unidentified naked man standing near one of the two tampered graves and later climbing the pole to put Kafan (shroud) on the camera to conceal his identity.
Importantly, the accused Ayub Khan, besides being convicted for killing his two wives in 2010, was also accused in at least eight cases of theft at Khandwa’s Jawar police station between 2008 and 2010.
The swift cracking of the highly sensitive case has ensured that the communally sensitive Khandwa district didn’t plunge into any potential law and order problem during the ongoing festive season, particularly as the Muslim community and it’s religious leaders were incensed over the September 22 night’s shocking incident at the city’s biggest graveyard.