A Malappuram district court is set to announce the sentencing on Saturday in the sensational murder of Mysuru-based healer Shaba Sherif. On Thursday, the Manjeri Additional Sessions Court found three accused guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, marking a rare conviction secured without the recovery of the victim’s body.
The key evidence in the case was a hair sample from the vehicle used to transport the body, which provided a positive mitochondrial DNA match.
Judge M Thushar convicted Shaibin Ashraf (37), Ponnakkaran Shihabudheen (39), and Naduttodika Nishad (32) under IPC Sections 304, 120B (conspiracy), 365 (kidnapping), 347 (wrongful confinement), and 201 (destruction of evidence), read with Section 34.
The prosecution sought a murder conviction (IPC 302), but lack of a body and postmortem report posed legal challenges.
Chilling Details of the Crime
According to the prosecution, the accused abducted Sherif on August 1, 2019, keeping him captive for 14 months at Shaibin’s residence. Their motive was to extract the secret formula of an “ottamooli” (single-ingredient folk cure) for piles treatment and commercialize it.
Sherif was tortured in a soundproof room, eventually succumbing in October 2020. His body was dismembered using a saw and butcher’s knife, packed into plastic covers, and discarded in the Chaliyar River. Despite a Navy search, the remains were never found, especially after floods in the region.
Breakthrough in the Case
The crime surfaced in April 2022, when Shaibin fell out with his accomplices and lodged a robbery complaint. Five accused, fearing for their lives, fled to Thiruvananthapuram, where three attempted self-immolation outside the Secretariat.
One of the accused later handed over a pen drive containing footage of Sherif being chained. This led to intensive police action, involving 80 witnesses, including Sherif’s wife, daughter, and granddaughter.
Other Accused & Acquittals
Of the 15 accused, nine—including Shaibin’s wife Fasna and retired sub-inspector S Sundaran—were acquitted. One accused died last year, while the 15th accused, Shameem, is absconding.
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