Ahmedabad:
The Ahmedabad City Crime Branch has solved a murder case that remained buried for more than three decades, with DNA evidence helping investigators identify skeletal remains recovered from an 18-foot-deep pit in Ahmedabad’s Vatva area.
The breakthrough came after police received a tip-off regarding a property in Kutubnagar, Sayyedwadi.
On April 29, under the supervision of an Executive Magistrate and officials from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), investigators carried out an excavation at a cesspool located on the property.
At a depth of nearly 18 feet, officials recovered human skeletal remains.
The remains were sent to the Forensic Medicine Department at BJ Medical College for examination.
Subsequent DNA profiling conducted by the FSL confirmed that the remains belonged to Farzana Dosubhai Radhanpuri, who had been missing since 1992.
According to investigators, Farzana’s husband, Shamshuddin Musaji Khedawala, allegedly conspired with family members to murder her following prolonged domestic disputes.
Police claimed the accused believed Farzana’s lifestyle had brought conflict into the family.
Investigators alleged that Shamshuddin, along with his brother Iqbal Khedawala and two associates, murdered Farzana and buried her body inside the property to destroy evidence.
Following the forensic confirmation, police arrested Shamshuddin Musaji Khedawala (61), a resident of Jamalpur and Iqbal Musaji Khedawala (63), a resident of Shah Alam
Two other accused, Abdul Karim Yakubji Javarawala and Shaliyabibi Samudkhan Pathan, have also been named in the case.
The decades-old secret finally surfaced not through a traditional investigation, but through the psychological unravelling of the perpetrators’ family. For years, the family was reportedly gripped by an overwhelming sense of guilt and terror, claiming to be haunted by the “shadow” or persistent hallucinations of the victim.
In a desperate attempt to find relief from this perceived paranormal torment, the family sought out occult practices and “Tantrik” rituals. It was during these attempts to exorcise the “ghost” of the past that the details of the 1992 crime were whispered to the outside world, eventually reaching the Ahmedabad City Crime Branch and ending 34 years of silence.
The Crime Branch then reopened inquiries into the disappearance and initiated a scientific investigation that ultimately led to the excavation and DNA confirmation.
The accused have been charged under IPC Sections 302 (murder), 201 (destruction of evidence), and 120B (criminal conspiracy).
Further investigation is underway.
