Four arrested in 2023 murder of expatriate businessman

Kasaragod police arrested four, including a woman linked to witchcraft, for the 2023 murder of businessman MC Abdul Ghafoor Haji over missing gold.

Kochi: The Kasaragod police on Thursday arrested of four people, including a woman suspected of practising witchcraft, in connection with the 2023 murder of a 55-year-old expatriate businessman at Poochakkad.

Four arrested in 2023 murder of expatriate businessman

The victim was identified as MC Abdul Ghafoor Haji and those arrested were Ubaid PM (38), Shamima KH (38), Asneefah PM (34) and Aisha (40).

Ghafoor, an owner of several supermarkets in the Gulf and originally from Poochakkad in Kasaragod district, was found dead at his home on April 13, 2023. His death was initially deemed as due to “natural causes” by close friends and family. But relatives later found that gold jewellery to the tune of 596 sovereigns was missing from the home, raising suspicions about a possibility of murder linked to robbery.

The case gained strength after a complaint was lodged with the Bekal police by Muzammil, son of Ghafoor, hinting at the involvement of Shamima, alias Jinnumma, who is allegedly known in the neighbourhood for practising black magic and witchcraft.

While the initial speed of the police probe was slow, a local action committee was formed that handed over crucial clues regarding the case to police and mounted pressure on the authorities to catch the culprits.

An officer, who is part of the probe team, said, “The accused used black magic and witchcraft practices to manipulate and exploit the victim. They were aware that he was in possession of a large amount of gold. The accused extorted large amounts of money and gold from him promising double the returns and an improved financial condition. And when he asked for the jewellery back, three of the accused killed him and made it look like a natural death.”

The officer added that police found evidence of exchanges of messages between the victim and Shamima, financial transactions as well as depositing of money in their bank accounts in the days following the murder. A part of the gold robbed from Ghafoor have been sold to various jewellery chains and efforts are on to recover them, the police said.

Sukumaran Poochakkad, a member of the protest committee, formed to exert pressure on police to probe the case, said, “We welcome the arrest of the woman who calls herself Jinnumma. She and her gang have cheated families and made illegal financial wealth using such black magic practices in Kasaragod.”