Kochi: Ameer ul-Islam, the sole accused in the sensational Jisha murder case, deposed before a court here on Tuesday that he had not committed the crime.
"My friend Anar ul-Islam had killed Jisha," Ameer told the court.
The migrant worker from Assam made the statement before the Ernakulam principal sessions court, while his bail plea was being considered. The court will consider the case again on Monday.
Jisha murder: Kerala police 'kills' Anar ul-Islam, but the ghost may haunt them
The 30-year-old dalit law student was allegedly raped and brutally murdered at her residence in Perumbavoor near here on April 28.
Ameer was nabbed from Tamil Nadu about two months later.
After interrogating Ameer, the police had unofficially told the media about a man called Anar ul-Islam, who, according to them, instigated the former and aided in the crime.
However, the chargsheet filed by the police before the court the other day contradicted their earlier statements. While categorically ruling out the involvement of someone called Anar ul-Islam in the case, the SIT concluded that Amir had no friend by that name and the story was cooked up with an intention to divert the investigation.
Notably, such loose ends in the chargesheet of the Soumya murder case had weakened the prosecution’s arguments, with Supreme Court quashing convict Govindachamy's deathpenalty.