The Hyderabad Police Task Force on Friday detected the murder of a “middle-aged” man, a case that was closed by the Pahadisharieff police of Cyberabad for want of evidence nine years ago, following the arrest of four persons.
Another individual who was accused of involvement in the crime is currently lodged in Cherlapally prison having been arrested on the charge of killing his wife, while two others are still at large. When all is said and done, the identity of the victim remains a mystery.
The victim’s decomposed body, with injuries on the head and a scarf tied around the neck, was found on the premises of an abandoned polyester yarn factory at Jalpally in Pahadisharieff on February 27, 2004. The Pahadisharieff police registered a murder case, but the investigation did not progress, as the victim was not identified. A year later, police closed the case. The Hyderabad Police Commissioner’s Task Force (South) team got wind of the alleged killers through an informant. Task Force Inspector K.V. Surya Prakash Rao and his team arrested Mohd. Khaja, 40, Shaik Mohammed, 40, Mohd. Iqbal, 36, and Mohd. Khaleel, 45.
The quartet, hailing from Falaknuma of Old City, admitted to police that they used to sneak into the abandoned factory occasionally and steal whatever they could lay their hands on.
“On February 27, 2004, too, we entered the factory. After reaching the first floor, we ran into a middle-aged man,” police quoted the accused as saying. Taking him for the watchman, the accused beat him up him and threw him down from the first floor. Later, they smashed his head with a boulder and strangled him using the head scarf.
