Victim in that case was Hafiz Shamsul Huda, editor of Urdu weekly Makhzan
The police on Monday claimed to have solved the July 2013 murder of Hafiz Shamsul Huda, editor of Urdu weekly Makhzan and founder-president of Al-Quds Minorities Credit Cooperative Society.
Huda (64) was found murdered at his office in the Eidgah Complex, Tannery Road, on July 3, 2013. He is the uncle of Syed Salman, who, along with his wife Shabreen Taj, was arrested recently for allegedly abducting and murdering their seven-year-old niece Rathibanisar in Ashoknagar. The police said that the couple spilled the beans while they were being questioned in connection with the child’s murder.
Police Commissioner Raghavendra H. Auradkar told presspersons that Syed Salman is the son of Muslim Shah, the elder brother of Huda. Investigations have now revealed that the couple, in dire need of money, killed Huda and made away with Rs. 60,000 and 400 grams of jewellery. The police said that Syed Salman often called on Huda who had provided him monetary support. He studied the movements of his uncle for more than a month before committing the crime, they said. “The couple tortured Huda before killing him. Shabreen stabbed Huda multiple times while her husband held him down, threatening to kill him if he did not part with the keys to the safe. The couple slit Huda’s throat soon after he gave up all valuables,” said Kamal Pant, Additional Commissioner (Law and Order).
The couple pawned the jewellery at a shop in Neelasandra and left for Hyderabad. The police claim to have recovered a part of the stolen goods. Mr. Auradkar said that the ruthlessness of the couple in two murders, both of close relatives, and the care they had taken to keep off the police radar indicated that they were professionals.
He said that the couple’s fingerprints would be sent to other States and the National Crime Records Bureau.
