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Man held in four-year old Sharjah farm murder case

SHARJAH — A 34-year-old Bangladeshi was yesterday arrested by Sharjah Police for the alleged murder of a fellow worker whose body was found in a farm located in Al Dhaid area four years ago.

Mohammed Arman reportedly confessed to have killed 27-year-old Indian N. Sreepati by hitting him on the head with a sharp tool and later burying his body in the farm where they worked.

The crime did not come to light during the last four years as the victim's family did not enquire about him and no one else complained to the police about his disappearance.

A police source told Khaleej Times that a group of Arab workers, who were digging at the farm to build a fence, found a human skeleton buried there. The farm's current owner had recently got it transferred from its previous owner. On discovering the skeleton, the workers informed the police who sent the remains for forensic examination.

The report released by the forensic laboratory revealed that the deceased, in his twenties, had died after suffering internal bleeding and fractures in the skull.

A CID team, which was set up to investigate the crime, contacted the previous owner of the farm and asked him about the workers who were under his sponsorship. The old owner informed the police that he had filed complaints several times between 2000 to 2003 at the immigration and labour offices about two absconding workers - the accused and the victim.

He said Sreepati, the victim, had worked on his farm for eight years while the Bangladeshi worker had worked for just 20 days before his disappearance.

With the help of the victim's documents and the cooperation from the farm's previous owner, the CID teams contacted the family of the victim in India who said they knew nothing about their Sreepati who had stopped contacting them long time ago.

The police focused on the search of the Bangladeshi accused, Arman, and through one of his friends they tracked him down in Dubai. The Sharjah Police in coordination with Dubai Police raided the accused's apartment and arrested him.

During the interrogation, the accused admitted having killed his Sreepati four years ago after several heated arguments. He said he had used an axe to hit him in the head while he was sleeping. He also told the police that on the day of the crime Sreepati had arrived drunk at the room which they shared and started to abuse him. As a result, he killed him and also burnt his bloodstained clothes.

During the last four years the accused said he worked in various places despite the expiry of his residence visa.

"The case has been referred to the public persecution," police sources said.

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