ISLAMABAD: A nine-month old missing baby girl, was recovered from Karachi and handed over to her maternal grandfather, the police said on Tuesday.

Earlier, on March 15, the police found the mother of the girl, aged 35, and her adopted sister, aged 7, murdered at their house in sector F-11/2 in Islamabad.

It was later revealed that the nine-month-old girl was missing from the house.

The police had arrested the father of the girl, as a murder suspect, due to his contradictory statements.

The father of the girl, a software engineer, also showed ignorance over the whereabouts of the infant.

The police said it was revealed during investigation that the father had arrived in Islamabad from Kenya a few days before schedule, adding that a man was spotted in their house on March 14.

Superintendent of Police Saddar Zone Retired Captain Mohammad Ilyas, with the help of the victim’s cellphone, found a suspicious number which was found activated once at the crime scene and then in Karachi, on the day of the murder.

The location in Karachi was traced and raided, which led to the recovery of the missing girl, the police said, adding that the house was owned by the elder brother of the owner of the suspicious mobile number.

The owner of the house told the police that his sibling had brought the girl, and handed her over with the instruction to protect the girl as her life was in danger.

The police said it was suspected that the murdered woman handed over her baby to the man and asked him to take her away to a safer place.

After the recovery of the baby girl, she was handed over to her grandfather, residing in Karachi, the police said.

However, the whereabouts of the man, who took the girl away, are still unknown, even though he is also being considered as a suspect in the murder case. The actual facts would only be established after his arrest; meanwhile, efforts are being made to trace him.

Until the motive behind the murder is revealed, the police will keep the girl’s father as a suspect in the murder, but his involvement in the killing is yet to be established.