PATHANAMTHITTA: Earlier this week, when a young woman confessed to the cops investigating the case of her missing husband that she had killed and buried him, many in the force deemed it the end of a nearly two-year-long probe. However, this was not to be.
The woman had allegedly told the police that the body parts were buried on the premises of their rented house. However, despite searching the house compound, and four other places that she pointed out — the septic tank, a cemetery next door, inside the house, and a nearby stream — the man’s remains could not be traced, leaving the cops perplexed.
Afsana, 25, a native of Nooranad in Alappuzha, on Wednesday, told the Koodal police that she had killed her husband, Noushad, 34 — who had been missing since November 2021— and buried the body parts on the premises of their rented house at Paruthipara in Pathanamthitta.
Following this, a team led by Konni DySP T Rajappan arrested the woman. “It was in August 2021 that the couple moved to the rented house. They stayed there for three months. However, Noushad went missing on November 1 of that year,” the DySP said. Noushad hails from Padam which comes under the Koodal police station limits. So, his father lodged a man-missing complaint with the Koodal police.
Though the police searched for him far and wide, there was no trace of Noushad, a fish vendor and driver. “When we questioned Afsana in 2021, she said she had gone to her house in Nooranad following a quarrel with Noushad. She said Noushad was not at home on her return, following which she took their two sons and left for Nooranad again,” the officer said. Though Koodal police registered a missing case and conducted a probe, Afsana reportedly did not show much interest in it.
Police’s efforts to trace man’s body go in vain
Noushad and Afsana were reportedly at loggerheads with each over the former’s alleged addiction to alcohol and for physically attacking her.
However, two weeks ago, when the new woman SI of Koodal station got in touch with Afsana to seek details about her husband, she told the officer that she had seen Noushad in Adoor. Though the police conducted an investigation based on her statement, they could not trace him. This led to doubts as to whether Afsana was telling the truth.
“The woman was asked to come to the police station again. On interrogation, Afsana confessed that she had murdered her husband and buried his body parts. Initially, she said the body parts were thrown into the nearby stream. Later, she said the septic tank, then inside the house, and even a nearby cemetery.
Though cops conducted a search in all these places, we could not find Noushad’s body,” Rajappan said. “We are conducting a detailed investigation to trace the body,” the officer added. The DySP said Afsana told the police that two youths helped her in burying the body parts.
“However, when we questioned them, we understood that they were innocent,” said Rajappan. The police have arrested Afsana under IPC Sections 177, 182, 201 and 297. However, they have not slapped murder charges on her. The police said she will be produced before the court soon.