Man Arrested for murder of woman found dead on Dharwad outskirts
Dharwad: Dharwad Rural Police on Thursday arrested a man in connection with the murder of a young woman whose body was found on the outskirts of the city earlier this week.
The deceased has been identified as Zakia Mulla, who had completed her paramedical course and was waiting for employment opportunities. According to police, the accused is Sabir Mulla, the man she was supposed to marry.
Addressing the media, Dharwad Superintendent of Police Gunjan Arya said Zakia and Sabir had studied paramedical courses at the same college and were in a relationship for about three years. Their families had also held marriage talks, and a date had been fixed for their engagement ceremony next month.
However, differences reportedly arose between the two after Zakia questioned Sabir over his closeness with other women. This led to frequent arguments between them. Police said that following these disputes, Sabir allegedly took Zakia to a secluded area on January 20 and strangled her to death.
In a dramatic turn, the accused himself approached Dharwad Town Police Station after the murder, claiming that Zakia was missing and requesting police to help trace her. He also personally called the Superintendent of Police and informed her about the alleged disappearance.
Police said Sabir remained present at the spot when officers arrived and behaved as though he had no knowledge of the crime. However, his conduct raised suspicion. He was taken into custody and, during interrogation, confessed to the murder.
Zakia’s body was later found on the outskirts of Dharwad, confirming the crime.
The police said Sabir Mulla was arrested based on technical evidence collected during the investigation.
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Trouble ‘Miyas’ everywhere only then they will leave Assam: Himanta Biswa Sarma
Says “Himanta Biswa Sarma, BJP are openly against them, we are saying it openly
New Delhi: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that four to five lakh “Miya voters” would be removed from the electoral rolls in the state once the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists is carried out. He also made a series of controversial remarks openly targeting the Miya community, a term commonly used in Assam in a derogatory sense to refer to Bengali-speaking Muslims.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an official programme in Digboi in Tinsukia district, Sarma said it was his responsibility to create difficulties for the Miya community and claimed that both he and the BJP were “directly against Miyas”.
“Four to five lakh Miya votes will have to be deleted in Assam when the SIR happens,” Sarma said, adding that such voters “should ideally not be allowed to vote in Assam, but in Bangladesh”. He asserted that the government was ensuring that they would not be able to vote in the state.
The chief minister was responding to questions about notices issued to thousands of Bengali-speaking Muslims during the claims and objections phase of the ongoing Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls in Assam. While the Election Commission is conducting SIR exercises in 12 states and Union Territories, Assam is currently undergoing an SR, which is usually meant for routine updates.
Calling the current SR “preliminary”, Sarma said that a full-fledged SIR in Assam would lead to large-scale deletion of Miya voters. He said he was unconcerned about criticism from opposition parties over the issue.
“Let the Congress abuse me as much as they want. My job is to make the Miya people suffer,” Sarma said. He claimed that complaints filed against members of the community were done on his instructions and that he had encouraged BJP workers to keep filing complaints.
“I have told people wherever possible they should fill Form 7 so that they have to run around a little and are troubled,” he said, adding that such actions were meant to send a message that “the Assamese people are still living”.
In remarks that drew further outrage, Sarma urged people to trouble members of the Miya community in everyday life, claiming that “only if they face troubles will they leave Assam”. He also accused the media of sympathising with the community and warned journalists against such coverage.
“So you all should also trouble, and you should not do news that sympathise with them. There will be love jihad in your own house.” He said.
The comments triggered reactions from opposition leaders. Raijor Dal president and MLA Akhil Gogoi said the people of Assam had not elected Sarma to keep one community under constant pressure. Congress leader Aman Wadud accused the chief minister of rendering the Constitution meaningless in the state, saying his remarks showed a complete disregard for constitutional values.
According to the draft electoral rolls published on December 27, Assam currently has 2.51 crore voters. Election officials said 4.78 lakh names were marked as deceased, 5.23 lakh as having shifted, and 53,619 duplicate entries were removed during the revision process. Authorities also claimed that verification had been completed for over 61 lakh households.
On January 25, six opposition parties the Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad, CPI, CPI(M) and CPI(M-L) submitted a memorandum to the state’s chief electoral officer. They alleged widespread legal violations, political interference and selective targeting of genuine voters during the SR exercise, describing it as arbitrary, unlawful and unconstitutional.
