Killer Indian husband sentenced to death by Dubai firing squad

Dubai,A 26-year-old Indian Atif Qamruddin Popere awarded the death sentence by the highest court of UAE for killing his 24-year old wife Mini Dhananjayan in Dubai in 2013 by strangling her, dumping her body with the help of his 28-year-old Pakistani friend.

Atif is going to face the firing squad either this week or by next and his Pakistani friend was sentenced to death in India.

Atif and Mini Dhananjayan were deeply in love with each other while they were studying at a college in Mumbai. They got married in 2008. After the marriage Mini changed her name to Bushra and in 2009 the couple had a daughter.

The killing is suspected to have been over a reported extra-marital affair of Atif with a Filipina woman in Dubai. As it leads to constant fights between them.

The Pakistani friend allegedly persuaded Atif to get rid of his wife, and one night while Bushra was asleep in her Dubai apartment Atif let the Pakistani man into his house and strangulate his wife and dumped her body at an isolated spot. And Atif fled from the country on March 28, 2013.

Bushra’s mother approached the noted
criminal lawyer Rizwan Merchant to fight for the custody of her six-year-old granddaughter, who is currently living with her paternal grandparents in Mangaon taluka of Raigad.

According to UAE law, Atif’s death sentence can be reduced to life only if the victim’s family puts forth a mercy plea. But Bushra’s mother said there is no way they will have mercy on the killer.

During his interrogation, Atif revealed that he and the same friend had killed another European woman with whom he had sex for money. When she demanded more money and refused to have sex with his friend they assaulted
her till she lost consciousness, had sex with her, killed her and buried her body.

The accused is now going to face the trial for murdering the European sex worker.