Migrant charged in murder of Dhangethi businessman

Sha Alom Mia (Salim), 29. (Sun Photo)

The Prosecutor General’s Office has filed charges against the suspect arrested for the murder of a businessman from ADh. Dhangethi back in October.

Local businessman Mahmood Aboobakr, 57, was found murdered and thrown into a water well in an abandoned house in Dhangethi on the afternoon of October 14, hours after he was reported missing.

Police arrested Sha Alom Mia (Salim), 29, a Bangladeshi national, in connection to the murder on October 16.

Prosecutor General’s Office said it filed charges against Salim with the Criminal Court on Tuesday. He was charged with murder with intent and abuse of a corpse.

Salim had worked as a live-in caregiver for an elderly man by the name of Aadhanbe at Nedhunge - a house close to where Mahmood’s body was found.

He became the focus of the investigation after a woman reported hearing screams coming from Nedhunge at approximately 09:30 pm on October 13 – the night Mahmood went missing. She looked over the wall, and saw what looked like someone being dragged by their feet.

She alerted one of Aadhanbe’s relatives, who called Salim. Salim told the relative he killed a cat.

Police believe the murder was motivated by greed, and that Mahmood was carrying MVR 10,000 in cash in his wallet the night he went missing.

Investigative findings show Mahmood was killed in the house where Salim lived. He lured Mahmood to the house and asked for money. He was killed in the dispute which arose after he refused to give the money.

Salim stabbed Mahmood multiple times. Medical examiners documented 30 different wounds on his body. Salim killed Mahmood and stuffed his head and legs into sacks. He threw the body over the wall and onto the street, and then carried the body and dropped it head-first into the water well located in the abandoned house at the back of his house.

Police, during their search of Nedhunge, found some of Mahmood’s belongings as well as articles if clothes Salim had been wearing when he committed the murder.

However, Salim had confessed to the murder before the discovery of the evidence.

Police have stated that their investigative findings do not indicate additional assailants had been involved in the crime.

Police also believe Salim to be linked to additional crimes which take taken place in Dhangethi in the past.

The case was investigated by a homicide investigation team from the Serious and Organized Crime Department, ADh. Atoll police, and a forensic team.