RAWALPINDI: Police have arrested a former nurse on the charge of killing the wife of an ex-army officer about a month back.

The police claimed that during interrogation the accused confessed to killing the woman.

The accused, a former nurse in the Military Hospital, believed that the wife of the retired army officer was resisting his plan to contract a second marriage with her.

Syeda Rahat, wife of Colonel (retired) Rahat Qadeer Butt, was found beaten to death in her house in the Officers’ Colony, Morgah, on October 5, 2013, when her husband was in Kotli, Azad Kashmir.

Haroon Joyia, the superintendent of police (SP) Potohar division, told a press conference here on Monday that the ex-army officer would also be investigated in connection with the murder though he has not been nominated in the FIR so far.

The husband of the deceased had accused her brother Abdul Shakoor of killing her over a property dispute and got the murder case registered against him.

However, the police investigation could not prove the involvement of Shakoor in the murder.

The arrest was made after the police obtained the cellphone call data of the retired army officer and found that he had held frequent conversations with Salma, the arrested woman, on the day of the murder of his wife.

Salma was working as an assistant accountant in a private hospital when she was taken into custody by the police from her Christian Colony (Dhoke Syedan) residence.

SP Joyia said images obtained from the close-circuit television (CCTV) camera installed at the entrance of the Officers’ Colony showed a red car entering and later leaving the house of the retired army officer on the day of the murder.

When inquired by the police, the deceased woman’s husband said the car belonged to Ms Salma, daughter of Younus Masih, who had visited his house in her absence.

The SP added that the police obtained the call data of Salma’s cellphone which also proved that she was present in the house of the retired colonel on the day of the murder.

The SP claimed that during interrogation Salma, in her mid 20s, confessed to beating to death the wife of the retired colonel with a club.

The accused told the investigators that she developed relations with Rahat Qadeer Butt some seven years back and later decided to marry him.

However, Mr Butt told her that his first wife was not allowing him to get second marriage.

Mr Butt said he had taken Salma to his house more than once where she met his wife.

“Salma quarreled with Rahat more than twice as the latter suspected that she was having illicit relations with her husband,” The SP said.

Another senior police officer close to the investigation said during questioning the ex-army officer stated that he exchanged gifts with the nurse and also took her to Murree on a tour.

After killing Rahat, the accused informed her brother’s wife and mother about what she had done and straight went to her home where she hid the baton (murder weapon), the police said.

Clad in shalwar kameez and hiding her face with a shawl, the accused was produced before the mediapersons where she confessed to killing the woman in connivance with her husband.

“Yes, he was aware of the plan and had intimated me at what time he would be away from his house on that day,” she added.

The police said the suspected killer would be produced before the court of a magistrate on Tuesday to obtain her remand custody.