Eight years after woman drowns to death in Kollam, husband arrested for murder

The case was a major challenge for the Crime Branch due to lack of eye witnesses. However, circumstantial evidence and forensic examinations were taken into consideration to arrest Shihab.

Kollam: A man was arrested for the murder of his 30-year-old wife, more than eight years after she drowned. Shajeera, a native of Punalur, had died in 2015. The Crime Branch conducted the investigation based on the complaint of Shajeera’s parents.

Shajeera who fell into a lake at Kallumoottil Kadavu in Kollam district was rescued by local persons. However, she remained unconscious for three days and succumbed while undergoing treatment. The local residents had then alleged that Shajeera’s husband Shihab did not cooperate with the rescue efforts and even tried to mislead people when they first arrived to check when they heard the sound of something falling into the water.

According to Shajeera’s parents, Shihab used to torture her over her complexion. “He had received a white Maruti car from Shajeera’s family at the time of marriage. He used to say that he got a white car and a black wife,” police said. According to police, Shihab brought Shajeera to the lake saying he would buy her pearl spot fish. After he was sure that the place was deserted, he pushed her into the water.

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The case was a major challenge for the Crime Branch due to lack of eye witnesses. However, circumstantial evidence and forensic examinations were taken into consideration to arrest Shihab.

This was the second marriage of Shihab. This first wife separated with him, citing his mental and physical torture.