Praveen told the police that his target was Aynaz, but he decided to kill the others when other members of her family came to her rescue.
Published Nov 15, 2023 | 11:08 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 15, 2023 | 11:09 PM
Four of a family murdered in Udupi, cops arrest prime accused
Three days after the gruesome murder of a family of four in coastal Karnataka’s Udupi district, the police on Tuesday, 14 November, arrested the prime suspect in the case from the Belagavi district.
The 39-year-old Praveen Arun Chougule was held from the Kudachi town in the Raibagh taluk of the district, where he had been hiding at a relative’s house.
The Udupi police traced him after tracking his technical information, such as data usage, mobile tower location, and call detail records.
The police identified him through the CCTV footage from in and around the victims’ house in Trupti Nagar, which streamlined their probe as the accused operated alone. However, an investigation is underway to determine if any others were involved in the murders.
Praveen, a native of Sangli in Maharashtra, used to work at the Mangaluru Airport as a cabin crew member with Air India, said the police.
He had also worked with the civil police in Maharashtra. However, he had issues within the department and quit as a result, they added.
The murder of 47-year-old Haseena and her three children — daughters Afnan (23) and Aynaz (21) and son Azeem (14) — took place on Sunday, after which the police formed five teams to probe the case from all the possible angles. The family of four was murdered at their house in Trupti Nagar in Nejaru in Udupi.
They picked up around 20 suspects, who were questioned. The cops later zeroed in on Praveen Arun Chougule, a colleague of Aynaz who worked as an air hostess with Air India. The needle of suspicion turned towards him as his mobile phone was switched off from the time the four murders were committed.
While Haseena was a homemaker, Afnan worked for a private company. Haseena’s youngest son Azeem was a Standard 8 student.
Her mother-in-law Hajeera (70) was also attacked by the assailant. However, she locked herself inside a bathroom and remained there until the attacker left the house, said the police, adding that she later cried out to her neighbours for help.
Haseena’s husband Mohammed Noor works in Saudi Arabia, and the couple’s elder son works at the Bengaluru International Airport as a ground staff.
The police also said that Afnan and Aynaz were also pursuing their higher studies while they worked, and had come to Udupi to be with their mother and brother for the Deepavali holidays.
Udupi district Superintendent of Police (SP) Arun K told reporters on Wednesday that Praveen had confessed to the crime.
He added that as per the confessional statements, there appeared to be three reasons or motives for him to commit the crime. However, the SP did not divulge the three reasons.
“The investigating officer, after thorough probing, has to submit a report with me. Only then can we come out with the exact motive of the murders,” he said.
“We produced the accused before a magistrate and sought his custody until 28 November — for 14 days — for further interrogation,” the SP told reporters.
He also confirmed that Praveen was not associated or working with the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) or the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
“We have information that he was a civil policeman in Maharashtra, and we are verifying that. We are also verifying if he has any cases registered against him at any police station,” said the top cop.
However, police sources told South First that the motive for the murders was a relationship between the accused and Aynaz that had gone sour.
Praveen is said to be married and has two children living in Sangli in Maharashtra. However, he had grown close to his young colleague Aynaz while working as a cabin crew with Air India.
The sources also claimed that Praveen had come to the house of Aynaz more than a couple of times, including once recently for her birthday, when he gifted her a ring, which she rejected.
Praveen had been trying to woo her for some time, but she first distanced herself from him, and then started avoiding him, said the police sources.
During interrogation, Praveen is said to have told the police that he had come prepared to kill, and his target was Aynaz. However, when the other members of the family came to her rescue, he decided to finish them all — including the 14-year-old boy.
According to his confession, he had even once warned Aynaz that he would “eliminate” her if she did not change her mind.
The police sources said Praveen called Aynaz around 36 times since Saturday night, but she did not answer his calls.
Praveen had already entered their house and attacked Aynaz, Haseena, Afnan, and the elderly Hajeera when Azeem arrived. Upon hearing the commotion and seeing his mother and sisters being stabbed, the boy entered the house and intervened, but was stabbed and killed immediately, said the police sources.
After committing the murders, Praveen apparently changed his shirt and fled the house.
According to Praveen’s statement to the cops, Aynaz had informed her mother about Praveen’s proposal, but she did not take it very seriously and asked her to focus on her studies and work. The mother and daughters did not share any of this information with Hajeera, said the police sources.
Praveen arrived at Nejaru early morning on Sunday and hired an auto-rickshaw from the Santhekatte stand to come to Trupti Nagar.
When the auto-rickshaw driver told him he was unsure of the address, Praveen insisted that he knew the location and would guide him to get there, said the police sources quoting the driver.
He reached the house around 8.30 am and went inside. He came out around 15 minutes later and went to a nearby auto-rickshaw stand. He asked the driver to speed away as he was getting late.
The first auto-rickshaw driver told the cops that the passenger wore a mask and appeared to be bald.
Accused Praveen eventually alit from the auto he had taken to get away from the scene of the crime, and availed a lift on a motorcycle rider for some distance to mislead the police’s dog squad.
He then headed straight to the Kudachi town in the Raibagh taluk in Belagavi, where his maternal relatives live.
He had gone there on the pretext of meeting them for the festival holidays, and was staying with them as if nothing had happened, said the police.
Soon after the Udupi police learnt about his location, they alerted and engaged their Belagavi counterparts, who surrounded Praveen’s relative’s house in Kudachi on Tuesday.
The relative told the police that he was shocked to learn about Praveen committing four murders. Praveen was then arrested and brought to Udupi for further legal formalities.
