The data recorded from the in-built navigation system in a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) used by a man accused of the murder of his air hostess colleague and three members of her family in Udupi in November 2023 has emerged as key evidence to indicate that the alleged killer travelled from his home in Mangaluru to Udupi to carry out the murder.

The recovery of the navigation data from a Morris Garage SUV owned and used by former Air India cabin crew Pravin Arun Chougule, 40, was cited as evidence in the murder of his colleague Aynaz M, 21, and her family members, by the prosecution counsel during the hearing of a bail petition filed by Chougule in the Karnataka High Court this week.

The Karnataka HC has rejected the bail of the former Air India cabin crew member by citing the various evidence gathered by the Udupi police during the investigation.

“The data from the MG car inbuilt location system matches with the timeline and path of travel of the accused,” during the period before and after the murder, the HC was informed. The Udupi police contacted the car maker to recover the navigation data from the car used by the accused Chougule, the Court was informed.

The car was allegedly used by the accused to travel from Mangaluru to Udupi and was left near a toll plaza to avoid detection by CCTV cameras on the day of the murder. The alleged assailant then travelled by bus and auto-rickshaw to get to the home of the victim on the morning of November 12, 2023.

Festive offer

The former airline cabin crew executive allegedly murdered his air hostess colleague and three members of her family on November 12, 2023, over a failed relationship.

The accused then returned to fetch his car and drive back to his home in Mangaluru.

The HC this week noted the multiple messages between the victim and accused, audio and video recordings, pictures, and other evidence placed before it to state that “there is sufficient material” to reject the bail plea of the former airline crew member.

The defence advocate argued that there is only circumstantial evidence in the case and that the prosecution had not recorded the statement of the elderly grandmother of the victim who was an eyewitness to the murders. The defence advocate also argued that the accused could not have killed four people in 10 minutes as alleged by the police.

“The accused was having a liking towards one of the deceased but she was not entertaining him and that led to the causing of her death by the accused going to her house in broad daylight,” a single judge bench of the HC observed while rejecting the bail plea.

Chougule had earlier this year sought a stay on his trial on the grounds that he had approached the Karnataka High Court for bail. The trial court, however, observed on April 10 that the HC had not stayed the trial and fixed June 13 as the date for the start of the trial.

On March 27, the trial court had framed charges on four counts of murder (IPC 302), one count of attempt to murder (IPC 307), one of house trespassing (IPC 449), and one of voluntarily causing hurt with a dangerous weapon (IPC 324) against Chougule.

As per the charges framed against Chougule, he had a relationship with Aynaz and later when she started disliking him for family reasons, he “developed enmity with her and made a secret plan to murder her…”

The former Air India cabin crew member is accused of murdering his colleague Aynaz M, 21, her mother Haseena M, 47, an elder sister Afnan M N, 23, and a teenage brother Aseem M, 14, at the family’s home in Udupi. He is also accused of attempting to kill Hajeera M, the elderly grandmother of Aynaz – who managed to evade the attack by locking herself in a bathroom.

The trial court observed during a bail hearing that DNA matches had been found with the accused person following a DNA test of hair found in the palm of one of the victims.

The arrest of the assailant

The family of four were stabbed to death on the morning of November 12 by a then unidentified visitor who arrived at their home at around 9 am and left within 15 minutes.

The Udupi police arrested Chougule on November 15 after tracking him down to the home of a relative in Belagavi where he had fled after allegedly committing the murders in the Nejaru village in the Udupi district on November 12.

The police picked up Chougule’s trail after analysing the phone records of all the family members and narrowing down possible suspects on the basis of communications including chats.

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