A Mangaluru court on Saturday, April 19, 2025 sentenced three persons from Kasaragod, Kerala to life and asked each of them to pay a penalty of ₹65,000. Earlier on April 7, 2025 the court convicted the three persons who were found guilty of murdering two persons as they refused to share proceeds of smuggled gold with them.
The First Additional District and Sessions Judge H.S. Mallikarjun Swamy sentenced to life Mohammed Muhezer Sanaf, Mohammed Irshad and A. Mohammed Safwan on finding them guilty of murdering Nafir and Fahim in Attavar in Mangaluru, on July 1, 2014.
In her arguments, prosecutor Judith O.M. Crasta said, Nafir had smuggled gold into Mangaluru International Airport. With the help of his friend Fahim, he sold the gold and they refused to share proceeds of the sale with the three accused, who are members of the gang allegedly involved in illegal trade of gold.
The three accused persons took a house, near Umamaheshwari Temple, in Attavar, on rent for two months on June 15, 2014, by claiming that they were students. Nafir and Fahim started staying with the three accused in the house since June 17, 2014. When Nafir and Fahim were fast asleep the accused stabbed them to death.
Earlier in April, 2014 Safwan had purchased 10 cents of land in Kasaragod where the accused dug a pit in which they wanted to bury Nafir and Fahim after murder. The accused took the bodies in a hired car and buried them in the land in Kasaragod. They cleaned the rooms of the house in Mangaluru and disposed of some bloodstained bedsheets and other materials by throwing them down from the bridge across Chandragiri river in Kasaragod district. When they were carrying a few more blood stained materials in the car, a team of Central Crime Branch police headed by the then Police Inspector Valentine D’Souza caught them near Mahakalipadpu Railway Level crossing on July 6, 2014.
Mahabala Shetty, head of forensic science department of K.S. Hegde Medical Academy, examined the bodies that were buried and submitted the autopsy report, the prosecutor stated.
The Judge examined 47 witnesses, including Dr. Shetty, and on April 7, 2025 convicted the three accused persons under Sections 302 (murder), 120 B (criminal conspiracy) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) of Indian Penal Code.
On Saturday, April 19, 2025 the Judge who sentenced the three persons to life for murder and criminal conspiracy also sentenced them (the three persons) to undergo three years simple imprisonment and pay ₹5,000 each for the offence of disappearing of evidence. The sentences will run concurrently.
Of the total penalty amount, ₹1.2 lakh should be paid as compensation to Nafir’s mother Ayesha. The mother is also entitled for compensation from District Legal Services Authority of Dakshina Kannada, the Judge said.
Published – April 19, 2025 08:36 pm IST
