News Desk
MALE, Maldives — The criminal court on Wednesday extended the detention of Raud Ahmed Zilal, a 21-year-old man implicated in the puzzling fall of Hawa Yumnu Rasheed from a city building, for an additional 10 days. The decision comes amid mounting public frustration over the police investigation and the establishment of a presidential commission to probe the case.
Zilal, a resident of Eriyadu House, was initially detained for five days following his arrest last week. His custody was extended after the earlier remand period expired on Wednesday. Yumnu, also 21, fell from a building on the night of April 18 under circumstances that remain unclear. She was recently flown to Malaysia for advanced medical treatment, where her family reported a successful but delicate surgery on Tuesday.
Public anger has swelled over what many perceive as police negligence in handling the investigation. In response, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu announced the formation of a presidential commission on Saturday, appointing former Attorney General Dr. Mohamed Munawar as its chairman alongside four other members.
At the commission’s inaugural press conference on Wednesday, Munawar sought to reassure a skeptical public. “Our work will be guided by the sentiment of the people,” he said, emphasizing the commission’s independence. “It would not be easy to influence me, or I would not be here.” He pledged that the commission would aim to complete its work “reasonably soon” and assist the police in ensuring justice for Yumnu.
On the commission’s role, Munawar noted that the government would decide whether the police should pause their investigation to allow the commission to take over or continue their work in parallel. The commission, he said, would review the police’s progress and the direction of the investigation thus far.
Questions about the commission’s budget and the compensation of its members went unanswered. “I don’t know about the budget or whether I’ll be paid,” Munawar admitted when pressed by a journalist.
The case has drawn intense scrutiny, particularly because of its connections to prominent figures. Zilal was arrested six days after Yumnu’s fall, which occurred at H. Fentenoy House after a party held on a terrace owned by the family of Transport Minister Mohammed Amin. Police have identified seven other individuals present that night, including young men linked to the minister and other high-profile figures, but only Zilal remains in custody. Authorities have seized the group’s phones under a court order but say they have been unable to obtain CCTV footage from the building.
