According to the police, on December 15, 2009, Safdar Ali Khan alias Asghar (45), an autorickshaw driver of RT Nagar and his elder brother Rahmathullah Khan alias Pyaru (55), a tailor living in MS Palya, Yeshwanthpur, took their younger brother Jaffer Ali Khan alias Janu (30), in an autorickshaw to Kogilu Layout, Yelahanka on the pretext of discussing an “important matter.” A supervisor in Dubai, Jaffer had come to the City four months ago.
After reaching Kogilu Layout, the brothers halted at a room they had hired earlier. Once inside, Asghar sought money as loan from Jaffer. Jaffer had earlier given Rs 70,000 to Asghar which he had not repaid and hence refused to lend more money. Jaffer also refused when Pyaru sought money from him. A verbal duel ensued between them, and soon turned into an exchange of blows.
According to the police, an enraged Asghar suddenly pounced on Jaffer with a knife, stabbed Jaffer's gullet even as Pyaru pinned his hands behind his back. A profusely bleeding Jaffer died in no time, the police said.
The suspects left the body in the room and fled. Two days later, on December 17 they returned to the room to dispose of the body. They dug a pit, took the body out of the room and buried it in it, around 8:30 pm. Later, they cleaned the entire room using some disinfectant, police said.
They put the murder weapon in a bag and burnt the bag near Khader Nawaz Sharief Institute of Technology on Thanisandra Main Road. While Asghar took out the SIM card from Jaffer's cell phone and dumped the handset, Pyaru took the dead man’s ATM card and withdrew all the money in his bank account, amounting to Rs 70,000.
Later, impersonating as Jaffer, Asghar even called up Jaffer's wives, Salma Begum and Uzma Ara and gave them some false information about “his” whereabouts. On December 19, the accused took Jaffer's family members to DJ Halli police station and lodged a complaint about Jaffer having been “kidnapped.” Pyaru fled to Mysore but his relatives there became suspicious.
“On December 23, I left Mysore for Chintamani. Two days later, I left for Hyderabad where I stayed for two days. I returned to the City on December 26 and stayed at a friend's house in Bharathinagar. Last Tuesday, my friend called up an advocate who took me to the police station. Following my confession, the police arrested Asghar and took us to Kogilu Layout for exhuming the body,” Pyaru told Deccan Herald.
While he confessed to the crime, he insisted that it was committed in a fit of rage and they never intended it. “We didn't intend to murder him. It occurred all of a sudden and was spontaneous,” he rued.
Asghar, the prime suspect, also concurred with Pyaaru. “Arre bhai, sab bhi mazaq mazaq mein hogaya so (it all took place in a spur of the moment)” he said. Saying that he didn't have a great bond with Jaffer, Asghar told this reporter that “we are sorry for what happened.”
DJ Halli police have registered a case of murder. The accused are being produced before the 11th Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Judge at his residence.
