News of a dead body found at sea last Friday, 23rd of October 2020, near Indra Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) area flooded social media within few hours of the discovery.
During the morning hours at a time with no electricity in Male’ city, news of the deceased man made its way across popular social media platforms, with many local medias picking up on the news and raising questions regarding the cause of his death. Several assumptions were made with some stating that the death was not a natural death while others said the man has been killed and then discarded at sea. Some shared gory details of the condition the body of the deceased was found in, describing that the deceased had one eye missing when found and several injuries inflicted on his body. It was then disclosed that the man found dead last Friday was 31-year-old Sidhrathullah Ahmed from G. Dh. Vaadhoo.
While the gruesome assumptions were made by the public in relation to the death, the family of the deceased also shared similar assumptions for the cause of his death. However, the truth of these assumptions will be made public after the police thoroughly investigates the incident.
Questioning the cause of death, the has police decided to send Sidhrathullah’s body abroad in order to conduct a post-mortem examination. His body is currently being kept at the mortuary while arrangements to transport his body are being finalized. While almost a week has passed since Sidhrathullah's dead body was found, his remains are still the mortuary of Galolhu Cemetery in Male’ city. The initial assumptions after his death has now spun into tales of political involvement in the death of the deceased.
Disheartened by the fact that his body still remains in the mortuary without a burial for a long time, Sidrathullah's family has also raised concerns, appealing to the police to hand his body over through a letter. AVAS Online also received the same letter which stated the family’s wish to not conduct a post-mortem on Sidhrathullah’s body. However, with regards to the letter, the police said that the cause
of death still remains a mystery and that in order to determine the cause, a post-mortem is necessary for the investigation. With the power vested in the police under the laws of criminal procedure, the police are rigid in their decision to send the body abroad to conduct a post-mortem. As soon as the post-mortem is conducted and the body is brought back to Maldives, the body will be handed over to the family, the police has assured.
The police have not yet stated a reason for the delay in sending Sidhrathullah’s body abroad for the post-mortem examination. Undoubtedly, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic would cause hindrance to transferring a body abroad for post-mortem. The police has also released a CCTV footage of Sidhrathullah walking towards Rasfannu beach on the day of his death, appealing to the public for assistance in investigating the case. Additionally, the police have also begun collecting information of individuals who met Sidhrathullah during the time.
The family’s assumptions
Sidhrathullah, who worked in the contracting business, is the eldest of seven siblings. The news of his death shocked his family, causing great pain and loss. Despite the family refusing to believe that he died a natural death, they do not wish for political drama spinning around Sidhrathullah’s death.
Mother of the deceased, Sheereen Shihab first received the news of her son’s death when a call from G. Dh. Vaadhoo came through. Upon seeing the body at IGMH, she decided for herself that the cause of death was not normal. According to her and the family, her son Sidhrathullah was brutally murdered and then discarded to the sea.
“I first received the news of my son’s death from Vaadhoo and I want to know the secrets behind his death. When the police find whoever did this, what I really want is to advise them on what they did and to forgive and pray for them. I wish to live with the memories of Sidhrathullah,” said Sheereen.
The details of the injuries caused to the body has been omitted in this article with respect to Sheereen’s wishes.
As any mother, Sheereen wishes to find the secrets behind her son Sidhrathullah’s mysterious death as well as to find the hands behind it. However, with no intentions of an eye for an eye, she only wants the murderers to understand their actions and to forgive them with prayers.
“I wish for those behind my son’s death to learn from their actions and understand the impact of it. I want to forgive them and pray for them as well as pray that my son’s sins are forgiven. I have no intentions of avenging his death. I just want the brutal murders to stop here in Maldives,” said Sheereen.
