Malaysia seeks India’s help to trace missing Indian

KUALA LUMPUR - The Malaysian police have sought help from their Indian counterparts and the Interpol to trace an Indian millionaire who has been missing since January when he arrived here to seal a business deal.

A. Muthuraja, a Chennai-based millionaire, was allegedly last seen with the two lawyer brothers who were arrested last month for the murder of Malaysian woman entrepreneur Sosilawati Lawiya and three others.

Muthuraja was said to have contacted his wife, Usharani, and told her that he met the lawyer brothers at the airport here.

She said she failed to contact her husband for several days later and became worried and lodged a report with the Indian high commission here.

Muthuraja’s wife has charged that her husband could not be traced as “authorities” refused to release him despite her family having paid RM 80,000 ($25,777) through a middleman.

The police here have asked their Indian counterparts to help obtain DNA samples from the family members of Muthuraja, whose business interests in Chennai include financing film production.

The Malysian authorities said that police here needed the samples following the discovery of hundreds of bone fragments, believed to belong to as many as 20 persons who might have been killed and dumped in the Sungai Panchau river bed in Banting.

“Police in Malaysia are not sure if the businessman is dead or alive and the DNA samples are needed to assist in investigations,” The Star newspaper said Saturday, quoting an unnamed source who also said it would take a few days for the DNA samples to be sent to Malaysia.

Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar, meanwhile, confirmed the arrest of a 34-year-old Malaysian man in connection with the missing Muthuraja.

The role of Selangor police has come in for criticism and Bakar said the anti-graft cell in his force would investigate “policemen who live beyond their known means”, who are alleged to have hushed up the involvement of the lawyer brothers in last week’s killings.

The serial disappearances and killings triggered political controversies Friday.

T. Murgiah, an ethnic Indian and a deputy minister in Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s government, alleged that he had been subjected to a smear campaign through SMSes, that he had links with two main suspects, who have not been named so far.

Murgiah hinted at his political rival, M. Kayveas, who heads the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) with which he had an acrimonious parting earlier this year.

A similar SMS campaign also took place between leaders of opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Perkasa leaders.

The police Saturday said they had built up “an iron clad case” and would approach the Attorney General’s office next week to pursue judicial processes.

Prime Minister Najib has commended the role of the police in the investigations. His government has said that there was no racial bias in the investigations that were being pursued as per the law.