On January 12, Ranchi Police recovered the skull of a beheaded 22-year-old woman, the body of whom was found earlier. The police had recovered her headless dead body from a paddy field in Chandwey village. The head was recovered from the paddy field of the prime accused Shiekh Bilal. The skull was unearthed around 5 KMs away from the spot where police found the body.
Bilal lured Sophia to spend some quality time
The police found out that Bilal took Sophia on the pretext of spending time together. He took her to Parsagarh forest on January 2 where he killed her with a sharp-edged weapon. A few hours later, he reached home with her beheaded skull to hide the evidence. He asked his son to bring a digger and went to his farm in Chatwal village where he dug up a pit and buried the skull. He had added salt while burying the head so that it decomposes quickly.
Sophia’s brother Shamsher has identified and confirmed that the head was of his sister. Police have sent blood samples from both the body and head to the Forensic laboratory for DNA matching.
During the initial investigation, police found out that Bilal had killed Sophia, who was living with Bilal as his second wife. SSP has formed a special team to arrest him. The reports suggested that Bilal had recently come out of jail. The police have put up posters and asked for public assistance to arrest him.
Shabbo Khatoon, Bilal’s first wife, pointed out the location of the head
Bilal’s first wife, Shabbo Khatoon, was aware of the murder. However, she did not inform the police. The police detained her and questioned her on Monday after which she broke down and narrated the whole incident. She also pointed out the location where police could find the skull. Police have not yet arrested her formally.
The police suggested that there were several reasons why Bilal killed Sophia. It was Sophia who informed the Pithoria police about Bilal when he was arrested with a weapon. Secondly, she came to live with Bilal after leaving her first husband, Khalid. However, she was in contact with a third man. Lastly, Bilal wanted to get rid of Sophia.