Silvester D'Souza
Daijiworld Media Network - Kundapur
Kundapur, Apr 17: A day after a woman died under mysterious circumstances in a lodge near Shastri circle here, it was learnt that the man who had brought her to the lodge has fled to Maharashtra.
The deceased, identified as Lalitha Devadiga (60) was brought to the lodge by Azhar Afzal Khan (36) on Wednesday April 15 morning. She was found dead the same evening, and Azhar has since gone absconding.
However, it is still not known why she came to the lodge and the circumstances that led to her death still remain mysterious. Azhar's identity was known after his Aadhar card was found in a bag he had left behind. The Aadhar card states that he is a resident of east Mumbai.
Azhar had taken a room at the lodge on April 4. It is learnt that all through his 10-day stay in the lodge, he would go out early morning and return only in the evening. On Tuesday April 14, he informed the room boy that he was going to a party at night. The next morning at around 11 am, he brought Lalitha to the lodge, introducing her to the receptionist as his mother, and took her to his room. They both had lunch together at 12.30 pm in the same lodge.
At around 4 pm, the room boy saw the lady alive, but when he came at 4.30 pm, he saw her lying unconscious on the floor. On questioning, Azhar who was with her replied that she was not well and left the room saying he would fetch the doctor. However, he never returned.
When Azhar did not turn up, the room boy grew anxious and alerted the other staff. The police and doctor were called, but by the time they arrived, she was already dead. The body was taken to Kundapur government hospital and then to Manipal hospital for post-mortem. All this while, no one knew her identity.
It was later discovered that Azhar had left behind a bag in the room. The bag contained two mobile phones, photos of a few girls, his Aadhar card as well as some clothes. When the police dialled the numbers in the mobile phone's recent call list, one of the numbers was found to be that of Sita Devadiga, the younger sister of Lalitha. Sita, hailing from Uppunda, is presently staying in Pune. Based on this information, the police tried to establish her identity and learnt that a lady in Gangolli had been searching for her mother who had left home with some documents needed to apply for passport, and had gone missing. She was about to lodge a complaint, when the police investigating this case learnt about the missing lady and later ascertained that she was Lalitha Devadiga.
Meanwhile, it has been learnt that the absconding suspect, Azhar, is originally from Delhi and had lost his family in an accident. Being from a rich family, he has properties in both Delhi and Mumbai, and is residing in the latter city, sources said. He has known Lalitha's Pune-based sister Sita from the past eight years, and also knows Lalitha's daughter who stays in Mumbai, it is said.
Azhar had come to Gangolli several times in the past and had even reportedly agreed to donate Rs 1.25 lac to Jattigeshwara Temple in Gangolli. He had even helped Lalitha financially in building her house, sources said. However, here he changed his name to Ajay Babu in order to hide his true identity, it is said.
Police are trying to find out what he was doing in Kundapur for the last 10 days. Also, if he was a family friend, his mysterious disappearance immediately after Lalitha's death raises suspicions. Sources said that after Lalitha's death, Azhar called Sita in Pune and talked normally and even called Lalitha's daughter several times and spoke for hours, but did not tell either of them about Lalitha's death.
Meanwhile, it is learnt that after he went missing, his mobile phone was in network range in Byndoor till about 10 pm. Based on the mobile tower data, the police looked for him at Byndoor railway station, but in vain. On Thursday April 16 morning, his mobile phone rang on calling, but nobody answered. Sources said that the phone's location indicated that Azhar had crossed the Maharashtra border.
Kundapur police are investigating further.