Shaba Sharif was abducted in 2019 and killed after year-long torture at Nilambur in Kerala

Hair strand seals conviction

Mysuru/ Malappuram (Kerala): The Additional District and Sessions Court-I at Manjeri in Kerala has sentenced three individuals to varying prison terms for the murder of Shaba Sharif, a traditional healer from Mysuru.

Shaba Sharif (60), a resident of Vasantha Nagar in Bogadi 2nd Stage, Mysuru, was abducted on Aug. 1, 2019 and killed on Oct. 20, 2020, at a house in Nilambur, Kerala, after torture. He had left his home on Aug. 1, claiming he was going to treat someone suffering from piles. The gang abducted him to learn his healing techniques, which had made his clinic popular.

The main accused, Shaibin Ashraf (37), received 13 years and nine months of rigorous imprisonment and was fined Rs. 2.44 lakh. P. Shihabudheen (36), the second accused, was sentenced to eight years and nine months in prison with a fine of Rs. 60,000. Nishad Naduthodika (32), the sixth accused, was handed a five-year and nine-month sentence along with a fine of Rs. 45,000.

Judge M. Thushar delivered the verdict recently, directing that the convicts serve their prison terms consecutively rather than concurrently. The trio was found guilty of multiple charges, including culpable homicide, conspiracy and destruction of evidence.

Sharif ran a piles clinic in Vasantha Nagar, which became widely popular due to the effectiveness of his treatment. The mastermind behind his abduction was Shaibin Ashraf, a businessman based in the Middle East.

According to the Police, Sharif was held hostage and tortured for over a year at Ashraf’s house in Nilambur. The gang sought to extract the secret formula of his fast-healing piles medicine, hoping to launch their clinic. However, Sharif refused to reveal the combination.

On Oct. 8, 2020, after enduring prolonged torture, Sharif succumbed to his injuries. The following day, Ashraf and his associates dismembered his body and disposed of the remains in the Chaliyar River from Seethi Haji Bridge near Nilambur.

The crime remained undetected for nearly a year and a half. However, in April 2022, the case came to light after three of Shaibin’s former associates attempted self-immolation in front of the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram.

The trio, who had previously stolen Rs. 3 lakh and a computer from Shaibin’s house in Mukkatta, resorted to the drastic act out of fear of retaliation. Their attempted self-immolation caught the attention of the Police, who were investigating the burglary based on Shaibin’s complaint.

During interrogation, the trio revealed the shocking details of the Mysuru healer’s abduction, torture and murder. Ironically, Shaibin, who had filed the burglary complaint, was exposed as the mastermind behind the gruesome crime.

Hair strand seals conviction

A single strand of hair helped Kerala Police secure the conviction of the main accused in the murder of Shaba Sharif, a traditional healer from Mysuru, whose body or remains were never recovered.

Police and prosecutors revealed that the conviction of the three key accused was a commendable achievement, given the lack of physical evidence. The victim’s body was hacked into pieces and dumped into the Chaliyar River in 2020, making it nearly impossible to retrieve.

However, it was a lone hair strand — found in the car of the main accused, Shaibin Ashraf — that confirmed the victim’s identity. During their investigation, Police collected 42 hair strands as part of the forensic probe. A mitochondria DNA test on a single follicle belonging to Sharif came back positive, conclusively identifying him as the murder victim.

The accused had gone to great lengths to erase all traces of the crime. However, the DNA match from the hair strand became the key scientific evidence that linked the crime to Sharif.

Meanwhile, Police traced Sharif’s identity through a missing persons case filed by his family in Mysuru in 2019, strengthening their case against the perpetrators.