Accused detained, released
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 8: The murder mystery of Bollywood starlet Laila Khan and her four family members has taken a new turn with disclosures by Parvez Ahmad Tak, who was flown to Mumbai today by Maharashtra Crime Branch, that another Doda youth, Shakir Hussain was involved in the killings along with him and others at Igatpuri Farm House of the actor in Nasik, Mumbai in February last year.
Shakir Hussain son of Mohammad Sharief, a resident of village Dodwar, Gandoh in Doda district was detained by Kishtwar police before the arrest of Tak as he happened to be a close associate of the latter. Police had made the arrest after the seizure of Laila Khan’s Mitsubishi Outlander car from Kishtwar as Tak had gone underground.
Police had quizzed Shakir for a couple of days and then allowed him to go as they were unable to extract any clues from him. An inquiry was likely to be conducted against the police officers of Kishtwar, who failed to properly quiz Shakir and freed him without proper investigations.
“Now when the name of Shakir Hussain has figured in the killing of Laila Khan and her family during questioning of Tak and investigations by Mumbai Crime Branch, Kishtwar police has again launched a hunt for Shakir but he has gone underground and was untraced’’, police sources said.
Though top officials of Kishtwar police were tightlipped over the involvement of Shakir Hussain, DIG Doda-Ramban range Gareeb Dass admitted that Shakir was wanted in the killings. He said police was looking into the matter as to how Shakir was released after his detention. He declined to elaborate but police sources said Tak had engaged Shakir as a cook in the house of Laila Khan.
“Both Tak and Shakir were present in the Igatpuri, Nasik Farm House of Laila Khan when the killings took place’’, sources said, adding they were involved in the killings.
Disclosures by Tak and investigations by Mumbai Crime Branch have revealed that Laila Khan’s mother, Selina Begum Patel had decided to leave for Dubai after getting huge property following divorce of Selina with her husband Nadir Shah Patel, a businessman.
Selina was handing over some property to Asif Shaikh, a Bollywood financier, now in the custody of Mumbai Police through a will, which was strongly objected by Tak, who had married Selina after her divorce with Nadir. Tak had heated arguments with Selina after which he pushed her leading to a head injury to the woman.
Sources said Tak and Shakir Hussain with the help of others killed Selina, Laila Khan and other family members at Igatpuri Farm House and disposed off their bodies one by one.
Mumbai Crime Branch would quiz Tak and others and try to recover the bodies with the help of Tak.
A Mumbai Crime Branch team, which had taken Tak on transit remand from a court in Kishtwar yesterday, today drove him to Jammu and flew to Mumbai.
Sources admitted that Kishtwar police has launched fresh efforts to nab Shakir Hussain, whose arrest could prove very significant in completely solving the murder mystery of Laila Khan and her family members.
They said Laila Khan and her family members might have been hacked to death instead of being shot dead as was being feared earlier.
While Asif Shaikh, a Bollywood financier has been taken into custody by Mumbai Crime Branch, they were trying to trace Afghan Khan, a real estate builder, who was also a close friend of Selina Begum Patel.
Sources said Tak, Shakir and other accused had driven two vehicles of Laila family including a Mitsubishi Outlander and a Scorpio to Jammu after the killings and stayed at a hotel here. Later, they abandoned Scorpio at Ranbir Market and drove Outlander to Kishtwar.
Sources said some other costlier items of Laila Khan and her family might also have been taken away by Tak, Shakir and others after their killings.
Kishtwar police had arrested Tak few days back from Bagh-e-Bahu after the recovery of Laila Khan’s Mitsubishi Outlander car from his possession in Kishtwar. During sustained interrogation, Tak had disclosed that he along with others had killed Laila, her mother Selina, siblings Imran and Zara Patel and cousin Reshma Patel alias Laila Khan in February last year.
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