A Delhi court has discharged a 37-year-old man who was mistakenly arrested in connection with a decades-old murder in Redfern, Australia, after forensic evidence confirmed it was a case of mistaken identity.
Mohammed Basheeruddin had spent nearly a month in custody after being apprehended on 17 May 2025, based on information relayed by Australian authorities through Interpol. He was believed to be “Basheeruddin Mohammed,” a suspect listed on NSW Police’s most wanted list in connection with the 2003 killing of Shoukat Mohammed.
Shoukat’s body was discovered on 29 June 2003, stuffed inside a sleeping bag placed in a wheelie bin on James Street, Redfern. He had been drugged, assaulted, and strangled. At the time, one suspect was arrested and later sentenced to more than 26 years in prison. However, police have continued searching for a second man, Basheeruddin Mohammed, believed to have fled to India.
Australian authorities believed they had finally found the ‘most wanted’ fugitive in India — but they had the wrong man.
“There is a similarity of name between these two fellows, and this was a case of mistaken identity,” said defence counsel Farhat Jahan Rehmani. “He was very shocked and crying continuously for some two to three days,” added co-defence counsel M.A. Tousifoddin.
Basheeruddin’s lawyers told the Delhi court that their client was only 16 years old at the time of the murder, had never travelled to Australia, and obtained his Indian passport only in 2016. Crucially, his father’s name also did not match that of the suspect identified in Australian police records.
In light of these inconsistencies, the court ordered his fingerprints to be taken and compared with those provided by Australian authorities. The Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) submitted its sealed report on 12 June 2025.
“The fingerprints of my client were also taken in the court, and they were sent to the forensic science lab,” Rehmani said.
“The report was brought in a sealed envelope, and when the envelope was opened, obviously it was different — all ten digits, they did not match.”
On 13 June, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Pranav Joshi formally discharged Basheeruddin from all proceedings, stating:
“As per the report, the fingerprints of Mohammed Basheeruddin… are different from those of the original fugitive criminal.”
Rehmani later questioned the basis for her client’s arrest, which stemmed solely from a name similarity. “How is it possible that a person, only for a similarity in name, can be arrested and he has been kept for 22 days?” she asked. “I know that truth prevails.”
When contacted by 9News, the Australian Federal Police declined to comment on their role or how the mistaken identity occurred.
NSW Police had offered a $100,000 reward nearly a decade ago for information on the case, which remains under investigation.
Detective Inspector Despa Fitzgerald, Crime Manager at Redfern Local Area Command, said in a statement it is important that Basheeruddin Mohammed is located as soon as possible, ““This was a brutal crime and it is in the public interest that we apprehend this man quickly.”
“We are hoping the announcement of this reward is the motivation required for persons within the community with information to break their silence and assist police.”
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