SHILLONG: Giving a new twist to the murder of 24-year old Shoma Khongwir, a resident of Pinewood Hotel residential quarters, the mother of the victim said that her daughter was not wearing any gold chain when she went out on July 27 evening when she was killed.
Police on August 12 arrested two migrant labourers — Kuddus Ali (25) and Alom Badsah Sheikh (25), both hailing from Dhubri district of Assam for their alleged involvement in the crime.
At a news conference on August 13, East Khasi Hills police chief M. Kharkrang told reporters that the duo confessed before police that it was for snatching away the gold chain that they had killed the girl.
However, contradicting the claim of the arrested persons, the mother of the victim Salonsar Khongwir said on Sunday that her daughter was not wearing any gold ornament when she went out on July 27.
It was on July 28 that her semi naked body was recovered from Wahumkhrah river at Demseiniong.
While the arrested persons said that they killed her at a construction site at Demseiniong and dumped the body in the river, it is yet to be known how the victim was taken to the construction site at Demseiniong after she left home and went to Polo on July 27 at around 4 pm to recharge the mobile.
The mother of Khongwir tried to contact her cell phone since she failed to return in time, but in vain as the phone was switched off on July 27 evening. The mother now suspects that her daughter was raped by the miscreants.
According to the mother, after she got the information about the arrest of the miscreants on August 12, she had gone to Nongmynsong police station and talked to the culprits in the presence of police personnel.
“One of them told me that my daughter was raped by him”, Salonsar alleged.
According to the mother, another accused told her that he was in love with her daughter, but he did not know her daughter’s name even after repeated questions.
As per reports, police had arrested one of the accused last year on charge of molesting a minor at the Meghalaya Police Radio Organisation (MPRO) construction site.
The stand of the mother that her daughter did not wear any gold chain gets credence since no gold chain was recovered by police from the arrested persons.
It was learnt that when police questioned, reply from the arrested persons was that they threw away the chain after finding that it was not genuine which according to the mother has no logic.
The relatives of the victim said that what was the need of committing murder if the motive of the criminals was just to steal the gold chain.
The mother suspects that there is a third party involved in the murder and the migrant labourers are being used by someone influential who is involved in the crime.