How Nokia phone helped Hyderabad Police identify decade-old skeleton at Nampally house

The remains came to light after a boy entered the house to fetch a cricket ball that had fallen inside.

After skeletal remains of a human were discovered inside an abandoned house in Hyderabad’s Nampally Market area on Monday, the police solved the mystery around the skeleton using an old mobile phone. According to NDTV, the skeletal remains appear to be of one Ameer Khan, who is suspected to have died 10 years ago.

An old Nokia mobile phone and demonetised currency notes were found in the house that belonged to one Muneer Khan, the report added. Police were quoted by NDTV as saying that Muneer had 10 children, and Ameer, who was his third son, lived alone in the house while the remaining moved elsewhere.

Human #Skeletal Remains found in Locked House in #Hyderabad

Shocking, #HumanSkeletal remains were found in a locked house near #Nampally market on Monday.

The house had reportedly been shut for over 7 years.

The local residents who sensed a foul smell emanating from the… pic.twitter.com/cMSEF1ffV5

— Surya Reddy (@jsuryareddy) July 14, 2025

The remains came to light after a boy entered the house to fetch a cricket ball that had fallen inside. In a video of the incident, which went viral on social media, the skeleton is seen lying on its stomach on the floor of what appeared to be the kitchen. Several utensils are also seen lying around the human remains, the report added.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Kishan Kumar told NDTV that the phone, whose battery was dead, suggested the skeletal remains were of Ameer. On restoring the device after repair, 84 missed calls in 2015 were found in the phone log.

"The man was probably about 50, single and possibly mentally disturbed. He has been dead for a few years now, even the bones began crumbling. We found no signs of struggle or blood marks. It may have been a natural death," Kumar was quoted by NDTV as saying.

"He must have died 10 years ago. It appears that none of his siblings or associates tried to check on him," he added.

Besides the phone, demonetised currency of notes were also recovered from under a pillow, further supporting the year of the death preceding the 2016 demonetisation event, the report added.
The man's younger brother, Shadab, who used to collect rent from shops in the vicinity, identified a finger ring and shorts found on the skeletal remains, the ACP was quoted by NDTV.

As per the report, a CLUES team visited the house on Monday and collected samples for further examination. The human remains were transported to the mortuary for an expert examination to ascertain the identity of the dead person.