Sacked employee, lover held for killing Kerala restaurateur, stuffing body parts in bags, dumping them in a gorge

A young couple, reportedly in a relationship, were arrested from Chennai Egmore Railway Station while they were waiting to catch a train to Tatanagar railway station in Jharkhand’s Jamshedpur city.

The Railway Protection Force facilitated the arrest of Shibili (22) and Farhana (18). They were handed over to the Tirur police. The police have also arrested Farhana’s friend Ashiq, and her brother Gafoor is also reportedly in police custody.

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Man-missing complaint

Siddique’s son had earlier lodged a man-missing complaint with the Tirur police on 22 May. Unknown to the police and the complainant, Siddique was killed in a hotel room at Eranhipalam in Kozhikode. His body was cut into three, stuffed into two trolley bags, and taken to Attappady Ghat Road.

The police said Shibili, earlier an employee at Siddique’s restaurant, was sacked for misappropriation of money from the cash register on 18 May. He had allegedly picked the pockets of his colleagues.

It is suspected that Siddique was murdered either on 18 or 19 May. CCTV footage from the Eranhipalam hotel showed Siddique checking in with two others. However, only the duo left the hotel.

The police said Shibili and Farhana packed the trolley bags in Siddique’s car and drove to Attappady Ghat Road, some 100 km from the hotel. They tossed the trolley bags containing Siddique’s mortal remains into a gorge near the ninth hairpin bend on the ghat road near Agali.

It is suspected that Ashiq, who reportedly delivered the trolley, too, was in the car.

After dumping the bags, they drove to Cheruthuruthy in the Thrissur district and abandoned the car. The police said Shibili and Farhana might have caught a train to Chennai from the nearby Shoranur Railway Station, some three kilometres from Cheruthuruthy.

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Police launch probe

The police launched a search for Siddique after receiving the complaint from his son. Investigations revealed that huge amounts were withdrawn from Siddique’s account on multiple occasions using his ATM card.

CCTV footage, however, revealed that someone else, and not Siddique, withdrew the cash.

Siddique’s family said Shibily had worked in the restaurant for about a month before he was fired.

Malappuram Superintendent of Police S Sujith Das told reporters that investigators would ascertain the motive for the murder after the arrested duo was brought back from Egmore. He claimed that the duo had confessed to the crime.

The police found a trolley bag and ₹16,000 in cash in the possession of Shibili and Farhana. Officer Das said Siddique’s mortal remains were found based on Ashiq’s statement.

“As per our preliminary investigation, the murder was committed between May 18 and 19. Hence, the body is estimated to be around seven days old. It seems some personal issues led to the murder,” the officer said.

The district police chief said the details of the murder and its motive could be ascertained only after a post-mortem examination and interrogation of the accused.

Incidentally, Shibily is an accused in a POSCO case involving Farhana.

The case was filed by Farhana’s parents after he allegedly sexually exploited her in 2018 at Nenmara in Palakkad.

He was in judicial custody for 15 days before coming out of jail and striking up a close relationship with Farhana.

Several cases of theft and pickpocketing are pending against both Shibily and Farhana, the police said.