Biz partner, two others held for Andaman hotelier’s murder in Tamil Nadu

PORT BLAIR:  Three people, including the co-owner of a hotel in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, were arrested in Tamil Nadu in connection with the killing of the hotelier’s business partner in July, police said here.

The police are looking for two more persons who are suspected of being involved with the murder.

The alleged key conspirator, 31-year-old Muntaqueem Ahmed, and the other accused appeared to have planned the murder after watching multiple crime series on television, an officer told PTI.

Niamat Ali (49), co-owner of the hotel at Shadipur in Port Blair, was strangled to death in a private car by his business partner and his accomplices in Tamil Nadu on July 27.

The three accused were arrested on October 3 by officers of Khilambatham police station in Tambaram district of Tamil Nadu with assistance from the Andaman and Nicobar Police, officials said.

As per the police investigation, Ali travelled to Chennai on July 27 on a business trip and went missing the same day.

His family members reported the matter at Aberdeen Police Station in Port Blair, and initially, a missing persons case was registered on July 28.

Subsequently, a special police team was deputed to Chennai to trace the missing person.

"The analysis of CCTV footage in Chennai confirmed that Niamat Ali had travelled from Chennai airport to the Vandalur area, where he was last seen with a student," a senior police officer said.

"The student gave vital leads, and based on technical and circumstantial evidence and witness statements, the team identified the three suspects. Later, it was revealed that Niyamat Ali was smothered to death by the accused in a car, which was dumped in Odisha,” he said.

Muntaqueem Ahmed has emerged as the key conspirator behind the murder, and business rivalry is suspected to be the reason for the crime, police said.

Speaking to PTI, the investigation officer of the case said, “It was a pre-planned and cold-blooded murder. It seems that they watched some television series to execute the crime. We also found that one of the accused searched online for how to make chloroform.”

There were four people in the car including the victim. The killers first drugged Niamat and then strangled him to death with a rope, he said.

“They put the body inside the boot of the car and drove for more than 30 hours to cross Andhra Pradesh and reach Rourkela in Odisha on July 28. They tied a sack full of boulders to his body at a secluded place and threw it in the Brahmani River,” the officer said.

The Odisha Police has been alerted, and a team is being sent to Rourkela to retrieve the body.