In a moment filled with profound emotion, a couple from Coorg, Karnataka, received a small cardboard box from the Kasargod court that held the remains of their beloved daughter. Their hands shook as they held the box, their eyes welling up with tears. Inside were portions of their daughter’s skull, marking the end of an 18-year-long wait to give her a final, respectful farewell. The girl, Sofia, had been brutally murdered in Goa when she was only 13 years old.

According to police reports, Sofia was killed in December 2006 while she was working as a maid in the home of K.C. Hamsa, a contractor from Kasargod. Sofia had allegedly suffered severe burns in the kitchen, and in a move to escape punishment, Hamsa is accused of killing her, dismembering her body, and disposing of the remains at an under-construction dam site, as reported by PTI. Her remains were later discovered in 2008, leading to Hamsa’s arrest and trial. In 2015, a local court sentenced him to death for her murder. However, in 2019, the Kerala High Court commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment.

While Hamsa’s punishment provided some justice, Sofia’s parents believed their daughter deserved a respectful send-off.

The girl’s family, hailing from Aiyangeri in Coorg, approached the court with a request to release Sofia’s remains, which had been preserved as evidence throughout the legal proceedings. Their request was finally granted, and the Principal Sessions Court handed over her remains on Monday. Besides Sofia’s parents, Ayesha and Moithu, a few close relatives and residents from their hometown in Coorg were present during this deeply somber handover.

After receiving the remains, the family brought Sofia’s skull and fragments of her bones back to Coorg and arranged for her burial in a local mosque that night.