KARACHI: Police on Saturday claimed to have arrested a suspect allegedly involved in the killing of a senior journalist, Mrs Zeba Burney, at her flat in Khudadad Colony on the eve of Eid (last Sunday evening).

The police investigators believed that the murder was linked with robbery.

Speaking at a press conference at his office, SSP Investigations (East) Zulfiqar Mahar said the police arrested the suspect, Kashif Jamil, who allegedly killed her with the help of an electric wire.

The officer said Mrs Burney had called the suspect for getting her air-conditioner repaired. She knew him because he had been a tenant of the same building where she resided but his landlord expelled him over non-payment of rent after he became jobless, the SSP explained. It emerged during investigations that he remained jobless and worked as a ‘helper’ at different places, the officer said.

On the eve of Eid, the SSP said, the suspect reached the victim’s home after she had called him to fix the AC. However, he killed her with the intention of looting her money, mobile phone and gold ornaments, said the officer.

SSP Mahar said the journalist’s murder was a challenging case for police investigators, as there was no witness to it. Zeba Burney had worked in different capacities with daily Nawa-i-Waqt and had been living alone since her retirement some years ago. Her husband, Naeem Qamar, also a journalist, had passed away around 15 years ago. She had also remained an office-bearer of Karachi Press Club.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2017