05 March,2016 12:50 PM IST | | Shiva Devnath
28-year-old dismissed security guard wanted to prove to the Oshiwara building's residents that in his absence the housing society would be at risk of heinous crimes
70-year-old Mumtaz Badshah's grandson found her blood-soaked body with her throat slit, at her residence in Rizwan Apartment (left)
Close to 25 days after the brutal murder of 70-year-old Mumtaz Badshah, her murderer has been caught. Mohammed Rafique Chaudhry, a former security guard at Mumtaz's housing society Rizwan Apartment, has been arrested for killing the senior citizen. Cops say the accused killed Mumtaz to get his job, from which he was fired, back.
Also read: Oshiwara senior citizen's murder: Absconding security guards detained in Kashmir
70-year-old Mumtaz Badshah's grandson found her blood-soaked body with her throat slit, at her residence in Rizwan Apartment
Shockingly, the accused, 28-year-old Chaudhry killed the woman just because he wanted to prove to the society that if he were removed from the job, then such incidents would occur in the society. The accused wanted the society members to realise that he is the best guard to secure the people living at Rizwan Apartment. Cops claim that this is what the accused had told them in preliminary investigations. They are, however, not buying this theory and are interrogating him round the clock to know the exact truth.
Modus operandi
He targeted Mumtaz, because he was well aware of her being alone in her house from 9 am to 3 pm. On the day of incident, he was on duty at the C wing but he went on the terrace of C Wing and crossed into the D wing, where Mumtaz's home is located.
He reached Mumtaz's house, and since he knew her well, she did not object to his entry into her flat. But, minutes later, he allegedly murdered her with a kitchen knife. After killing her, he went back to the D wing terrace once again and later crossed into the C wing and reached the entrance, where he was posted on duty.
Suspect # 2?
During the course of the investigation, cops noticed that one Mohammed Kaki alias Rail Wali Mohammed Chaudhary, who worked as a helper with the society went missing on February 21. His activities on the day and time of the murder were found to be suspicious as well. Hence, a team of officers and men were immediately dispatched to Gujarat to look for him. However, he remains untraced.
Since Chaudhry was already a suspect, a second team of officers was immediately dispatched to his native place at Darhaal, located in J &K's Rajouri district. During the course of investigation, the blood-stained clothes worn by the accused while committing the offence have been taken in under a panchnama. The accused was produced before the court today and was remanded in police custody for eight days, police added.
CCTV footage
An investigating officer in the case said, "After going through the CCTV footage we found that the security guard was missing for around 50 minutes in front of the CCTV installed at the entrance of C wing."
The team of officers minutely examined and analysed the CCTV footage installed at the main entrance and in and around the buildings. Each person found entering and exiting the building was traced and interrogated. A close watch on the activities of the residents and also on the building watchman was continuously kept.
