Ahmedabad: In a twist to the 34-year-old murder case detected in Vatva, the city crime branch has traced the prime accused, Shamsuddin Khedawala, alive, contradicting earlier claims that he died years ago. The development is expected to significantly alter the course of the investigation into the alleged murder of a woman, whose remains were recently exhumed from a plot in Qutubnagar.Sources in the crime branch said Khedawala, long believed to be dead, has now been located and is being questioned. His status remained unclear after initial narratives suggested he died in 2015. Investigators are now working to verify his movements over the past three decades and his exact role in the alleged crime.The case surfaced after police, acting on specific inputs, excavated a property in Vatva and recovered skeletal remains buried nearly 18 feet underground. The remains are suspected to be of Farzana Radhanpuri, who was allegedly killed in 1992.Inconsistencies have also emerged in the crime branch’s earlier statements. On Wednesday, officials said the accused and the victim were in a live-in relationship and that property disputes were believed to be the motive. On Thursday, however, a statement described them as husband and wife and indicated that the killing was connected to her desire to continue working as a sex worker.Police had identified several people, including family members and associates, in the alleged conspiracy, though some were believed to be dead. Now that the main accused has been found alive, investigators are likely to revisit earlier assumptions about the motive, the sequence of events, and the involvement of others.The skeletal remains have been sent for forensic examination and DNA profiling to establish the victim’s identity. Officials said the findings, along with Khedawala’s interrogation, will be crucial in piecing together the decades-old case. Police have located the deceased woman’s brother, and his DNA sample may help confirm her identity. Police also said Radhanpuri’s relatives never filed a missing person complaint because they had allegedly distanced themselves from her over her profession as a sex worker.
