In the house of Abdul Ghafoor, a businessman living in a creek in Kasargod district of Kerala, for some months, ‘Jinnumma (jinn mother)’ had been performing rituals to cure his wife Sharifa, who was suffering from back pain and depression.
On the night of April 13, 2023, Jinumma and his aides went to Ghafoor’s house when all his relatives were away and told him that they also needed to perform some of these rituals as part of their efforts to “exorcise the Jinn”. He was convinced that he was the cause of his wife’s pain. They then covered his head with a thick cloth and hit him against the wall several times. The next day, when his family came home, they found Gafur dead.
According to the police, 38-year-old Shameena KH, popularly known as Jinnumma, who practices ‘black magic’, and her gang allegedly killed Gafoor on the pretext of practicing black magic and took away a large amount of gold.
On Thursday, the police arrested Shamina, her husband Ubed, 38, and two other locals, Asfina (36) and Ayesha, 43. The first three were charged with direct involvement in the murder, and the fourth was charged with destroying evidence.
Asfina, a resident of Puchakkad in Kasaragod, introduced Gafoor to Shamina, who had many business ventures in the Persian Gulf.
‘double gold’
After Shameena and her gang started coming regularly to Gafur’s house to claim to cure his wife, they told him they could double the gold.
According to the family’s police complaint, Shamina took 596 pieces of gold from Gafur, promising to double it on time. Later it was alleged that Gafur had taken the gold from others.
Investigating officer, DYSP KJ Johnson said: “Part of the missing gold belonged to Gafoor and the rest was borrowed by the woman to double it. We have to cross-check the details to find out how much gold the gang took.
Six months before the murder, Shamina started taking gold and Gafur started demanding the return of the gold, police said, and he and his associates planned the murder.
As it was the month of Ramadan, Shamina and her gang went to Gafur’s house on April 13, when other family members had gone on engagements.
“They created an atmosphere of black magic, made Gafoor follow the woman’s instructions. Then they covered his face with a cloth and hit his head against the wall several times. The murder was planned,” the investigating officer said.
When his relatives found Gafoor dead at home the next day, they did not suspect foul play as there were no visible external injuries. They conducted his funeral, burying him the same day.
Seeds of Doubt
After the period of mourning was over, some friends and relatives met Gafur’s family and informed that they had borrowed the gold. The family searched the house for gold but found nothing.
After further inquiries about the borrowed gold, Gafoor’s son Ahmad Musamil filed a complaint with the police, raising suspicions about his father’s death and missing gold.
The body was exhumed on April 27 and an autopsy was performed. After the post-mortem results revealed that he had internal injuries on his head, the police started an in-depth investigation into the matter. In May this year, Kasaragod district police chief D Shilpa formed a special investigation team for the case.
Locals have also formed a working committee to find out the mystery of the incident.
Investigate
After the murder, the police started an investigation on the accused who was arrested after the authorities discovered that he was involved in suspicious financial transactions and bank transactions. In the complaint of Gafur’s son, it was suspected that there was some involvement in Shamina’s murder.
Further, digital evidence showed that the gang was in Gafoor’s house at the time of the crime. The police have also recovered WhatsApp chats between Ghafoor and Shamina, apart from documents showing that the woman took Rs 10 lakh and gold jewelery from Ghafoor.
Investigators have discovered that the gang sold gold jewelery to various jewellers. The police have recovered 29 pieces of gold so far and are preparing to interrogate the arrested to recover the remaining gold.
The four accused were booked under IPC Sections 449 (trespass into house to commit serious offence), 302 (murder), 397 (robbery or robbery where the offender attempts to cause death or grievous hurt), and 201 (destruction of evidence). 34 (general purpose), as well as various sections of the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act.