Airlines security staff arrested for brutal murders in Udupi

NT Correspondent

Udupi: Probing the quadruple murder in Udupi, the jurisdictional police along with their counterparts in Belagavi district arrested an airport security official on charges of killing a woman and her three children in Tripti Nagar locality of Nejaru here.

The accused was identified as Praveen Arun Chougale, 39, a flight cabin crew member of an international airlines at Mangaluru airport.

Udupi Superintendent of Police Dr K Arun during a press conference on Wednesday said that the accused hailed from Sangli in Maharashtra.

"The accused was arrested from Kudachi in Belagavi where he had sought refuge at a relative’s house. The police teams used mobile triangulation technology tools to track his location," the SP said.

On November 12, the accused had entered a house in Nejar and allegedly hacked Haseena, 46, and her children Afnan, 23, Ainaz, 21, and Asim, 12, to death.

Haseena’s mother-in-law Hajira, 70, who was also fatally stabbed, was found critically injured in the bathroom of the house by the neighbours and was taken to a hospital.

It was learnt that Haseena’s husband, Mohammed Noor, was working abroad while another son, Asad, was employed at a private firm in Bengaluru.

Udupi SP Dr Arun said the act of crime was pre-planned and predetermined as per the accused's statement. He also said that following an interrogation, Praveen confessed to the crime.

According to the police, the accused had stated that he had befriended Ainaz, who was working as an air hostess at the airlines where he was a security official. However when Ainaz rejected his advances and started ignoring him, he got disappointed.

The police are thoroughly investigating the jilted love angle between accused Chougale and slain air hostess Ainaz, SP Arun added.

Apart from this, police is also probing into the other speculated aspects of monetary transactions between Ainaz and Praveen, alleged squabble between Praveen's wife and Ainaz's family over recovery of money owed to him and consequent provocation to murder.

The mobile phone chat history between Ainaz and the accused is being retrieved by the police. SP Arun Kumar explained that the accused had hired an auto from Santhekatte to Tripti Nagar around 8:30 am on Sunday.

"He barged into Ainaz’s house and stabbed five people with a knife killing four of them. The boy, Asim, who was playing outside the house entered the house after hearing the commotion and he was stabbed too. He carried out the crime in 15 minutes and fled from the house," he said.

A neighbour Aifa Ayub, who heard cries from Haseena's house, rushed towards the house but was threatened by Manjunath who was now weilding a knife.

She, however, alerted the jurisdictional police about the murders.

Investigation and arrest: Shyam, an auto-rickshaw driver, provided crucial information about the accused to the police.

"Between 8:30 am and 9 am on Sunday, an individual on a twowheeler hailed my rickshaw on Queen’s Road. He directed me to take him to Tripti Layout in Nejaru. Accordingly, I dropped him off at the gate of the house where the murder occurred," he said.

"However, within 15 minutes, the man returned to the Santhekatte auto stand and boarded another rickshaw in the queue. This time, I recognised him and mentioned that I would have waited if he had returned so soon. He didn’t respond and instructed the new rickshaw driver to hurry up,” Shyam added.

The police further said that the accused, who had travelled towards Mangaluru after the murders, employed tactics, such as changing clothes and using strong perfume to mask the smell of blood.

"As per information available with us he has not served in CISF or any other service," SP Arun added.

Sources said that Manjunath was married to a muslim woman who changed to a Hindu name after their wedding. The couple has two children and the family live in Mangaluru.

Funeral: Bodies of Haseena and her three children were handed over to Haseena’s husband Noor, who returned to Udupi on Sunday evening following an autopsy.

Noor and his other son Asad, and a large number of Noor’s family members and friends took part in the last rites performed near Jamia Masjid in Kodi Bengre.

A Judge, on Wednesday, Shyam Prakash of Court of Additional Civil Judge and First Class Judicial Magistrate, Udupi remanded the accused to 14 days' police custody till November 28.