Mohammed Raheesh Isoof, the New Zealand resident facing murder charges for the death of a family of five in the Nausori Highlands in 2019, said the late Nirmal Kumar was more than a brother to him and they had so much respect for each other.
The 65-year-old accused relayed this in the High Court in Lautoka when he took the witness stand yesterday as the defence witness.
Mr Isoof is accused of murdering Mr Kumar, 63, his wife Usha Devi, 54, their daughter Nileshni Kajal, 34, and Ms Kajal’s daughters Sanah Singh, 11, Samarah Singh, 8, in the Nausori Highlands in August 2019. During the trial yesterday, he said the bond he had with the deceased family was a very close one and he was worried when he found the family was gone.
While giving evidence, the accused said he had dropped the family off in the Nausori Highlands on August 25, as per their request.
Mr Isoof said he returned about 11.40am and went to Shop N Save Supermarket in Namaka where he bought some groceries as he was expecting visitors at his Legalega, Nadi, home that day. He said he dropped his labourer off in Sabeto in the afternoon and had grog with a few neighbours before calling it a day.
Mr Isoof told Justice Thushara Rajasinghe he was drinking kava with Pravin Singh, a neighbour, the following day when his tenant approached them to query the whereabouts of the deceased family as the tenant had received a call from Sangeeta Devi, a daughter of the older deceased couple.
The accused said he thought about what the tenant had just told him because he had dropped the family off on the highlands the day before. He said the tenant later informed him that five bodies were found in the Nausori Highlands and it was all over the news.
Mr Isoof said he received a call from Ms Devi about midday asking for her parents and family and he thought it was too early to inform her that he had dropped them off and he did not want to speculate.
He said it was around 1pm when he saw a police vehicle entering the deceased family’s property and neighbours and family members had gathered around their home.
Mr Isoof said he then approached a police officer he knew, Detective Constable Semi Vuniwai, and told him he had dropped the family off in the highlands the day before.
He said he was worried his “brother”, Nirmal, and his whole family was gone. That same evening, he said a cousin found Nirmal’s mobile phone under his car seat and he called DC Vuniwai to inform him and was told to leave the phone where he had found it.
He said he could not recall how the phone ended up in his car.
Mr Isoof said police officers came to his home at 7pm and asked him to go to the Namaka Police Station where he was questioned about the discovery.
His counsel, Iqbal Khan, asked the accused to explain how his DNA was present on four of the prayer items found at the crime scene and Mr Isoof said that Nirmal had asked him to buy the items three days before dropping them off in the highlands.
