AHMEDABAD: Gujarat Police’s Ahmedabad Crime Branch has reopened a mystery from 1992, launching an excavation at an old well in Vatva’s Qutubnagar area after receiving inputs that a woman was murdered and secretly buried inside the accused’s house.
In a significant breakthrough, the Crime Branch has reopened a murder case that had remained buried for over three decades.
The case dates back to 1992, when a young woman identified as Farzana alias Shabnam allegedly disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
Investigators now believe she was murdered by her boyfriend, Shamshuddin, who is suspected to have hidden the crime by dumping her body inside a well located within his house in Vatva’s Qutubnagar locality.
Police sources said the alleged murder was rooted in a tangled web of love, betrayal and premarital tensions. What was initially treated as a missing person case is now emerging as an alleged crime of passion.
According to investigators, members of the accused’s family had reportedly been living in fear and claimed they were frequently experiencing disturbing visions and hallucinations linked to the deceased woman. Desperate to escape the fear, the family allegedly turned to tantric rituals and occult practices.
During this period, a crucial tip-off reached Crime Branch Police Inspector A.P. Jebalia, prompting immediate action. Once the information was verified, officers moved swiftly to the suspected location and launched a full-scale excavation operation.
Soon after, a JCB machine rolled into Qutubnagar and excavation began at the old property in search of long-hidden evidence. As the digging intensified, investigators reportedly recovered skeletal remains believed to be those of a woman.
The remains have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), where experts will determine whether they are human and whether they match the suspected victim.
At the same time, police have widened the probe and begun questioning possible co-accused persons, relatives and eyewitnesses who may have knowledge of the decades-old case.
If forensic confirmation supports the suspicion, authorities are expected to formally register a murder case and intensify the investigation, despite the main accused reportedly being dead.
Speaking to the media, PI A.P. Jebalia said, “Some remains have been found. They will now be examined. If those remains are confirmed to be human, then a murder case will be registered and further investigation will be carried out.”
