RAWALPINDI: A personal diary, some plates, bowls, tea pots, two helmets and a gas stove were found by the beds when the police broke into the one-room apartment where Nosheen and Bilal Ahmed lived for three months before they were found murdered by a nullah in Gorakhpur, Adiala, on June 20.

The diary, which is believed to have been Nosheen’s, contained nothing more than Bilal’s mobile phone numbers.

“There was nothing in the diary which could have helped the police ascertain if the couple were being threatened by someone or shed light on how they were killed,” the police investigation officer said.

The bodies of Bilal, Nosheen and her young son, Saddiq Shafiq were found with bullets fired into Bilal’s mouth and the skulls of the mother and son smashed with an axe.

Bilal’s body had been claimed by his family in Jatli. He was a domestic driver in Rawalpindi and drove a taxi part time. He had a wife and a four-year-old son who live in Jatli.

The bodies of Nosheen and her son were identified by her brother on Sunday. She is said to have been married twice and had a son with her first husband.

Bilal was said to be a friend of her second husband, Atif, who is believed to be missing from his home in Gujar Khan. It is yet to be known why or how they were killed.

The police investigating officer said preliminary investigations had suggested Nosheen and Bilal were living in the single room apartment which they had rented for Rs1,600 per month three months ago.

The police officer said it is yet to be established if Nosheen and Bilal had gotten married.

He said that according to their neighbours, the couple were very unusual and would leave their room at odd times. No one knows if they were married because, the neighbours said, Nosheen was not friendly with other women and would only go out to get water.

After getting information about the room, the police travelled to Chakian Sihala and forced it open.

The investigating officer said there was no reason to believe that Atif Mehmood was involved in the murders. Nosheen’s first husband Mohammad Shafiq is also being investigated and Atif is being tracked down.

“Nosheen’s brother was in shock when he found that his sister had been murdered. He has not asked for her coffin to be moved to their native town in Azad Kashmir,” the officer said, adding that the woman and child were buried the day before they were identified by her brother.

Published in Dawn, June 28th, 2016