Abduction, killing of Mysuru-based healer: Main accused sentenced to 13 years

A Kerala court on Saturday sentenced to varying jail terms ranging from five years to 13 years the three persons convicted for the abduction of a Mysurubased traditional healer and his brutal killing at one of the accuseds residence at Nilambur Malappuram in 2019Additional District and Sessions Judge Thushar M sentenced Shaibin Ashraf the main accused to a total of 13 years and nine months in prison in connection with the abduction and killing of 60yearold Shaba SharifThe court sentenced him to eight years under section 304 culpable homicide not amounting to murder three years under section 347 wrongful confinement two years under section 120B criminal conspiracy and nine months under section 201 destruction of evidence under the Indian Penal Code IPC and said the sentences shall run consecutively Public Prosecutor EM Krishnan Namboodiri saidThe court sentenced Shihabudheen for a total of eight years and nine monthsThe third convict Nishad was sentenced for a total of five years and nine months the prosecutor saidBesides this the court also imposed a total fine of Rs 35 lakh on the three and said that if the amount was recovered from them it shall be given to the victims family according to the prosecutorThe court had convicted the three of them on March 20The court had acquitted nine others who were accused in the caseAfter the conviction of the three the prosecutor in the case had told reporters outside the court that a single hair found in Ashrafs car became instrumental in proving that Sharif was killed and his body disposed of by the accusedNo body or body parts were found and therefore it was very challenging to prove the case against the accused the prosecutor had said and praised the investigation carried out by the policeHe said that through the mitochondrial DNA of Sharif found in the hair it was possible to prove the crime against the accusedWe were able to prove his abduction wrongful confinement and killing the prosecutor saidThe abduction and homicide case came to light in 2022 during an investigation into a burglary caseAshraf a businessman hailing from Kaipancheri here had lodged a theft complaint against some of his associatesThe associates had then created a ruckus in front of the Secretariat in the state capital by attempting self immolation claiming that they were being intimidated by the businessmanThey were arrested and handed over to Malappuram police and during their interrogation the abduction and killing of the Mysurubased traditional healer was revealedOne of the accused also handed over to the police a pendrive containing a video of the victim being held confined in Ashrafs house Subsequent investigation revealed that Sharifs family had lodged a missing complaint in 2019The police thereafter found that Sharif after being abducted was subjected to brutal torture in captivity for over a year at Ashrafs house for a secret medicinal recipe of the healer to treat pilesHowever Sharif succumbed to the injuries suffered during his torture and his body was cut into pieces and dumped into the river according to the policeAshraf had plans to launch a clinic after getting hold of the medicine formula and reap huge profits But he and his associates had a falling out leading to them stealing some of Ashrafs valuables and cash and him lodging a complaint against themThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever