THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court will pronounce verdict on the Shyamal Mandal case on Tuesday. The Thiruvananthapuram CBI court’s verdict comes after 17 years of the murder. The case pertains to the abduction and murder of Andaman native Shyamal Mandal, who was a student of College of Engineering Trivandrum (CET). It was found that his family friend had murdered him for money.

Shyamal's body was found in a sack on October 17, 2005 in Vellar, Kovalam. The Fort police had found in their investigation that Shyamal was abducted and killed by his family friend Muhammad Ali and co-accused Durga Jeg Bahadur. The findings of the CBI, which then took over the investigation, were similar.

Shyamal’s phone records had proven to be a crucial evidence in the case. It was Muhammad Ali who had summoned Shyamal from his hostel to East Fort. Shyamal was abducted from there. Later, they called Shyamal’s father from his phone and demanded Rs 20 lakh. His body was found in Kovalam while his father was wandering in Chennai with the money. Following which, the police arrested Muhammad Ali, who had fled to Andaman after selling Shyamal’s phone at a shop.

The police have not yet been able to find the second accused Durga Bahadur. As per information, he had been a hotel worker. The case probe was handed over to the CBI after Shyamal’s father Basudev filed a plea in the high court in 2008. Durga Bahadur was not found despite issuing a lookout notice.

The trial, which began in February 2020, was halted in between due to the pandemic. There were 56 witnesses in the case. Shyamal’s phone, which was sold in a shop in Chennai, was the turning point in the investigation. Special Public Prosecutor Arun K Anthony will appear for the CBI in the case.