Healer’s killer: One-time lorry cleaner claims to be owner of assets worth Rs 350 crore

Born in a poor family at Maithanikunnu near Sultan Bathery, Shaibin Ashraf had eked out a living as a cleaner in a lorry and as an autorickshaw driver in the past
Shaibin Ashraf. (Photo | Special Arrangement)
Shaibin Ashraf. (Photo | Special Arrangement)

KOZHIKODE: Shaibin Ashraf, key accused in the murder of Mysuru-based traditional medical practitioner Shaba Sharif, has told police that he owns Rs 350 crore worth of assets. According to the police, the Wayanad native disclosed a dramatic life sketch of himself during interrogation.

“As per his disclosure, he had amassed the wealth in a few years. However, we are yet to verify all these. The financial sources of Shaibin will be investigated,” said Malappuram district police chief Sujith Das.

Born in a poor family at Maithanikunnu near Sultan Bathery, Shaibin had eked out a living as a cleaner in a lorry and as an autorickshaw driver in the past. His fortune changed after his mother’s visit to the Gulf in search of a job. Soon, Shaibin also reached there and the family prospered.

“He told us that he had been into diesel trade along with some Arabs there. We don’t know the truth. In 2015, the construction of his palatial house started at Puthankunnu in Sultan Bathery which is worth crores of rupees,” a resident of Maithanikunnu said.

Local residents say that Shaibin had helped many youth to go to the Gulf as well as started various businesses in Wayanad before shifting to Nilambur. He also had trusted gang members in Wayanad who were his partners in businesses like ginger cultivation, textiles and fish sale.

Meanwhile, the investigation team probing the murder of Shaba took second suspect Noushad Thangalath, a native of Sultan Bathery who revealed the crime to the police, to Shaibin’s house in Nilambur where Shaba had been kept hostage for over a year and killed. The evidence collection was held from the morning but the probe team did not got any vital proof.

Nilambur Inspector of Police Sunil P said the evidence collection is in the initial stage and it will continue in the coming days. “Noushad will be taken to other crime spots including the Seethi Haji Bridge at Edavanna, from where the culprits threw pieces of Shaba’s body into the Chaliyar, as part of evidence collection soon,” said the officer.

Noushad has been in police custody for five days while prime accused Shaibin and his co-accused Nishad and Shihabudheen, both natives of Sultan Bathery, are in judicial custody. The police will move the court seeking their custody.

Meanwhile, the police team has intensified efforts to nab the other people involved in the case. The police team is also checking the possibility of involvement of the accused in other criminal activities. In a pen drive handed over to the police by Noushad, there were visuals giving clues in this regard. Shaba Sharif was killed by the gang in October 2020. The culprits cut his body into several pieces and threw them in the Chaliyar near Edavanna. The murder came to light one-and-a-half years later.

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