21 October 2004	Thursday	06 Ramazan 1425

KARACHI, Oct 20: Police on Wednesday formally arrested Farooq Mengal, husband of the slain Afreen Baig, for plotting her murder.

A senior police official told Dawn that Farooq Mengal hatched the murder plot of his wife as he was suspicious of her character. Moreover, her death would have given him big monetary benefits as Afreen had invested huge amounts in the production of some play serials and was soon expecting returns, the police said.

The suspect used his driver Mohammad Bukhsh Umrani and his wife Zahida to carry through the plot.

DIG for Investigation Manzoor Mughal told Dawn that Umrani disclosed the plan saying that he only acted on the instructions of his master.

"We first collected fingerprints and other evidence from the crime scene and later formally arrested Farooq Mengal in Karachi", the DIG added.

The corpse of Afreen Baig was found in her residence in DHA Phase V on Oct 14.

Both her maid and the driver had gone missing from the house since the body was found. Police later arrested the couple near Lahore and brought them back to the city.