Kochi: The Special Investing Agency (SIT) probing the Jisha murder case suspect that the weapons used to commit the crime and the blood-stained shirt that were kept in his rented room by the accused before he went absconding might have been shifted to another location by an unknown person.
Forensic examination has revealed that the knife retrieved by the police team from Ameerul Islam’s room was not the one believed to have been used to slash the victim’s neck and mutilate her private parts. The shape of the abrasion around the multiple stab wounds on the victim’s body did not match the size and shape of the knife in question.
The police suspect that the key evidences in the case, the knife and the yellow shirt worn by the accused on the day of the crime, were either shifted to another location or destroyed at least a week before his arrest from Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu.
It gives clear indications of the presence of a person in Kuruppampady -Vattolippadi area who wanted to help Ameerul by covering up evidence when he went absconding after the incident on April 28.
As per the statement given by Ameerul's mother Khadeeja to Assam police, his brother Badarul Islam also lives somewhere in Kerala. The police have launched efforts to trace him. They will also question K. M. George, the owner of the building, located about three kilometres away from the victim's house, where Ameerul lived.
It was Ameerul's stepson who took away the bag containing his clothes from the lodge where he stayed for about five months. During interrogation, the stepson, who has been living in another room in the building, told the police that there was no knife in the bag. He further told them that the soiled clothes were dumped near a garbage pile adjacent to the lodge. Though the police thoroughly combed the lodge and the area, they could not recover the knife or the yellow shirt.
Ameerul, who initially maintained that he had abandoned the knife at the canal near the victim's house, later changed his statement and told the police that he threw away the weapon at Iringolkavu, which is about two kilometres away from Jisha’s house.
The police are now waiting to get the custody of the accused to grill him further to recover the weapon and the shirt.
Following the incident, Ameerul reportedly told his stepson that he was shifting to another place for some days as there was an issue at the workplace.
Due to his heavy drinking and violent behavior, both his wives were keeping a distance from Ameerul. However, he was very close to his first wife’s son. The police hope that the youngster would provide them some crucial clues and help them connect the missing dots.
