Man held for murder in Australia in 2003 got passport only in 2016, discharged | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court discharged a man apprehended last month for a murder in Redfern, Australia, in 2003, saying it was a case of mistaken identity. After considering forensic reports, the court of additional chief judicial magistrate Pranav Joshi noted in his order that the fingerprints of the accused, Mohammed Basheeruddin, 37, did not match with that of the murderer.The lawyer representing the arrested man told the court that the name of the actual accused mentioned in the foreign records was Bashiruddin Mohd, who was a different individual. The counsel claimed Mohammed Basheeruddin obtained his passport in 2016, and had never travelled outside India except to Saudi Arabia. On June 13, the sealed report by Central Forensic Science Laboratory, received the previous day, was opened in the court. “As per the report, the fingerprints of Mohammad Basheeruddin, who was arrested on May 17, 2025, are different from the fingerprints of the original FC (fugitive criminal),” the judge said.On June 29, 2003, the body of a man named Shoukat Mohammed was found inside a sleeping bag in a wheelie bin on James Street, Redfern. The victim was drugged and assaulted before being strangled to death.