13 people killed in Kanibadam, but the murderers have not yet been found

The news of the death of 13 members of four families in Kanibadam, including in Sandzhidzor, has alarmed and frightened residents. These events have caused some of them to close their homes and temporarily move to relatives in other areas. A correspondent from “Asia-Plus” visited the village of Sandzhidzor on May 31 and June 3 to understand what is happening here. On both days of the trip, we found that most of the yards in the village were empty, the houses were locked, and the remaining residents were scared.

What is happening in Kanibadam?

At the end of March, 5 members of the Sharipov family were killed in the city of Kanibadam (including two grandchildren born in 2014 and 2016). Authorities initially announced that a 65-year-old man killed his wife, daughter-in-law, and two minor grandchildren, and then committed suicide. However, later investigations concluded that the head of the family was actually hanged (to mislead investigators), meaning the killer or killers are still at large. The investigation is ongoing. On the night of April 16-17, the bodies of a husband and wife (their names are not disclosed) were found in the Gafurjon Ortikov community of Kanibadam with signs of violent death. The motive for the murder and the killer are unknown.

The latest incident occurred on the night of May 28-29, when 6 people from two different families – the Akhmedovs (including minors) and the Ibragimovs – were killed. According to preliminary information from law enforcement agencies, all the victims were strangled. Authorities are not providing details regarding the brutal murders of families in Kanibadam.

Akbar Sharipov, responsible for media relations at the Interior Ministry of Sughd region, confirmed the facts of the murders in a conversation with “Asia-Plus,” but refused to provide additional information so as not to interfere with the investigations.

Not killed for money

Mukarrom Akhmedova, the mother-in-law of Mahbuba Akhmedova, a nurse who was killed on the night of May 28-29 along with her two minor children, is seeking answers to the question of who and why killed her daughter-in-law and grandchildren so brutally. In a conversation with “Asia-Plus,” she said that her son’s family had no enmity with anyone and had lived a quiet and peaceful life for about 20 years. Mukarrom denied rumors of a large sum of money being stolen from her daughter-in-law’s house on the night of the murder. According to her, her son went to work in Russia in April of this year and was an ordinary migrant.

The bodies of Mahbuba Akhmedova and her two children were found by neighbors in different rooms of the house. “When Mahbuba did not answer phone calls all night, my son asked a neighbor to check on their family. When the neighbor entered the house, he was the first to find the dead 14-year-old Damirjon. Then he called out to his daughter-in-law, but she did not respond. He looked into another room and saw that his daughter-in-law was also lifeless. All three were killed in different rooms,” Mukarrom recounts. The bodies of 38-year-old Mahbuba, 16-year-old Nozanin, and 14-year-old Damirjon were buried on May 30 at the cemetery in the village of Jahonzeb (formerly Karachkum).

A “headquarters” for the investigation has been opened at the local school

School No. 28 in the Kyrgyz language in the village of Sandzhidzor has turned into a sort of headquarters for law enforcement agencies investigating these cases. Here, residents of the village and surrounding areas are being interrogated. On June 3, when a correspondent from “Asia-Plus” visited this school, there were no teachers or students present, as they had been transferred to another school. No one from the headquarters came out to speak with the journalist; we were advised to contact the regional administration. One of the victims on the night of May 28-29 was Zulho Ibragimova, the deputy director of this school. She was killed along with her brother Abdufatto Ibragimov and his wife Kurbongul Ibragimova. They were ethnic Kyrgyz. Three children from this family have been left orphaned and are now under the care of state authorities. We wanted to speak with the relatives of this family, but neighbors said they were not in the village of Sandzhidzor.

People do not go to the market; patrols walk the streets 

Residents of Sandzhidzor and nearby villages have been unable to sleep at night after a series of murders, and their adult children, who are working abroad, are constantly in touch with them – they are also concerned about the situation. Turdigul Joldoshova, a 72-year-old Kyrgyz resident of the village, says she has never heard of such horror in her life. “My husband and I are alone. Two of our sons have long since died, and our daughters live in their husbands’ homes. The yards are large, with no gates or fences. This makes it doubly frightening, as we understand that anyone can easily enter our home,” she recounts. One of Turdigul’s daughters is a teacher; “recently, my daughter gave us 100 somoni to buy groceries. But out of fear, we didn’t even go to the market.”

71-year-old Abdusalom Abdurakhmonov, a resident of Javononi Street in the village of Jahonzeb, told “Asia-Plus” that although the murders occurred in a neighboring village, they also live in fear. “One of my sons is abroad. Before these events, he would call every two to three days; now he calls every two to three hours to ask about us and the situation in the village and city. Migrants are also worried about these events,” he says. According to Abdurakhmonov, in some neighborhoods where there are no men, volunteers now patrol for the peace of mind of the people. Usually, this consists of 2-4 men from the village. Nevertheless, every night, lonely women “like nomads go to the homes of their relatives,” because no one wants to be alone right now. People are afraid even of their own walls.

All eyes are on the authorities – people are waiting for these terrible atrocities to be solved and for the murderers to be behind bars.