MADINAH: The well where the bodies were found, not far from the Prophet’s Mosque, has become a kind of macabre tourist attraction.
People have come to this spot, about 500 meters from Al-Salam Roundabout on the city’s second ring road, to imagine the circumstances that led to the mysterious disappearance of three Pakistani workers six months ago, the eventual arrest of a suspect who was lured back to the Kingdom in a sting operation and the subsequent discovery of the dismembered body parts in the well on Feb. 25.
“In Madinah news travel fast, and from the first day many people gathered and watched from a distance as police and forensic teams removed the bodies from the well,” said Madinah resident Salman Al-Oufi, whose home is meters from the well.
“Many days after the crime was discovered people were still coming to the site and talking about the crime. At night some people stay at a distant from the well to also talk about the incident.”
The story began with three missing persons reports. The first two victims were reported missing during Ramadan. A third man went missing a month later. Investigations established a link between the first two men: a person whom both had contacted by phone before their demise.
With a person of interest identified, police went searching for the man to discover he had left the country on an exit/re-entry visa.
Police later learned that man was not planning on returning to the country, but with the help of the man’s sponsor they managed to set a trap. No details of the operation were revealed publicly, but with the help of the sponsor the prime suspect was convinced to return to the Kingdom under the auspice he would continue working for his sponsor. Police nabbed him at the airport upon his arrival.
For days the man denied any involvement, but police said when faced with the evidence against him he relented and confessed to the crime. According to the results of the investigation, the man — identified only as “Taj” — lured his victims with promises of selling them visas. Then, according to police, he beat his victims to death for their money, dismembered the bodies, and tossed them into the dry well.
Hashem Al-Madani, another Madani resident who lives close to the well, said that the crime shocked the neighborhood.
“This is a terrible crime that violates the peace of this holy city,” he said. “Such crimes did not exist in the past. I think it is because of the rising number of foreign workers in the city. Police should increase their presence in the remote areas to prevent such crimes.”
