The Ahmedabad Crime Branch has recovered skeletal remains believed to be that of a woman murdered in 1992, reopening a decades-old case as excavation work began on Wednesday in the Qutubnagar area of Vatva in Ahmedabad, officials familiar with the matter said.
The remains are suspected to belong to Farzana alias Shabnam, a resident of Mumbai, who came to Ahmedabad to meet her partner Shamsuddin more than three decades ago and allegedly disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
Officials said police suspect she was killed following a dispute related to their relationship, as her visit is said to have created tension within his family. A police officer, who requested anonymity, said: “Shamsuddin is believed to have disposed of the body in a well inside his home, allowing the crime to remain undetected for more than three decades. He has since died. The case was initially treated as a missing person’s matter in 1992 and did not develop into a murder investigation at that time.”
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Speaking on the matter, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Ajit Rajyan said: “Rizwan, brother of late Shamsuddin, has been detained along with other suspects and is being interrogated. We have also started screening relatives of the accused and potential witnesses as part of the investigation.”
According to the police, there was a breakthrough in the case after members of Shamsuddin’s family reported seeing the apparition of Farzana, which they claimed led to fear and mental disturbance. “They then approached people offering mysterious cures to address the matter. During these interactions, information about the murder and disposal of the body came to light and was passed on to the police,” the officer said.
The Public Prosecution said: “The remains were sent to the Forensic Sciences Laboratory for examination. If the identity matches, a murder case will be registered.”
