A day after Kerala police arrested a 25-year-old woman on charges of killing her husband, the man was found working as a labourer about 130 kms away. Over a year-and-a-half after Noushad went missing, his wife Afsana told the police last week that she killed and buried him. However, after police arrested her and started looking for Noushad’s body, they received information that he was alive and working in Thodupuzha. He said he had run away from Adoor in 2021 after Afsana and a few others beat him up.
Afsana and Noushad has been living in Adoor with their two kids. In December 2021, Noushad’s relatives registered a missing complaint after the woman said that he was missing for the past month.
Last week, Afsana had told the police that she spotted Noushad a few days back at Koodal. She was summoned by the local police. But on further questioning, she said that she had killed her husband and buried him. On Thursday, her arrest was recorded and the police dug up a few places, including inside her house where she claimed the body was buried, but it turned out to be in vain.
As the police were trying to extract more information from Afsana, they received information on Friday, July 28, that Noushad has been traced working as a labourer in Thodupuzha.
Speaking to the media, Jaimon, a police official attached to the Thodupuzha police station said that on Friday morning he got a call from his friend who runs a shop. “My friend said that he was reading the news about Afsana and recognised Noushad in the picture. Soon I reached the place where he was staying and the landlord said he has gone for work very nearby. I went there, spoke to him and he agreed to come with me,” the police officer said.
On being asked, Noushad said that he decided to run away from Adoor after his wife Afsana and a few others beat him up. “I was scared to live with her. Since November 2021, I am living here working as a labourer. I do not have a mobile phone and have no news about Afsana,” said Noushad.
Meanwhile, Noushad has undergone a medical checkup as per the police protocol and the police from Koodal will take him to Adoor where a missing case has been registered. Afsana continues to be in police custody after her arrest on Thursday night.