Sri Vijaya Puram: In one of the most chilling inter-state murder investigations in recent years, police sources say 48 year old Niyamat Ali was strangulated in Chennai, his body dumped in a crocodile-infested river in Odisha, and the killers later set their own car ablaze in Andhra Pradesh to destroy evidence.According to police sources, Niyamat Ali, a hotelier and businessman from Sri Vijaya Puram, went missing on August 28 after travelling to Chennai for work. His family lodged a missing-person complaint the following day, triggering an inter-state probe.
Investigators believe Niyamat Ali was strangulated inside a Baleno car in Chennai before the accused drove nearly 1,000 kilometres to Odisha with the body in the vehicle. On reaching the state, they allegedly tied the body with a rope and dumped it into a river known to be infested with crocodiles to prevent recovery.
The river, which passes through almost 15 police-station jurisdictions, is now the centre of a large-scale search operation. District police teams, assisted by local divers and officials, are combing the area, though officers concede that recovery is unlikely due to the time elapsed and the presence of crocodiles.
After disposing of the body, the accused allegedly travelled to Andhra Pradesh, where they burnt the Baleno car along with the victim’s belongings to destroy evidence. To mislead local authorities, they reportedly called the fire brigade, claiming the car had caught fire accidentally.
An FIR was initially registered in Andhra Pradesh after the vehicle fire, but investigators said the full extent of the crime emerged only after the accused were arrested earlier this month.Police teams from Chennai, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh are now coordinating to verify the route taken, gather forensic material and reconstruct the sequence of events.
Senior police officers described the case as one of the most complex inter-state investigations in recent years, involving pre-planned murder, destruction of evidence and an elaborate effort to mislead law-enforcement agencies.
As the search continues along the crocodile-infested waters of Odisha, officers acknowledge that finding Niyamat Ali’s remains may prove impossible. However, they say the confessions and forensic trail point to a crime executed with chilling precision and an extraordinary attempt to erase every trace.
Police have named Muntaqeem Ahmed, son of Munir Ahmed and a resident of Dollygunj, Sri Vijaya Puram as the prime accused and mastermind. He is known to be associated with a petrol bunk in Bhatubasti and is alleged to have played a central role in planning the crime. Two other suspects also hailing from Andaman have been identified by police as Ayan Ahmed and Sufiyan Ahmed, both students of a private university in Tamil Nadu have also been named as co-accused in the case, according to investigators.Police sources further said that two additional suspects, Niyas Ali and Krish, remain absconding.
