KARACHI: A trader was kidnapped, shot dead and his body burnt before being thrown in a deserted area of Bin Qasim Town allegedly by his trading partners, said Anti-Violent Crime Cell SSP Muqaddas Haider on Thursday. The motive for the crime involved “financial gains” of over Rs10 million.

The AVCC arrested two trading partners of the victim, found his car in the parking area of the airport, seized a pistol used in the murder and other goods of the deceased, added the SSP.

He said that Adnan, an importer of diapers, was kidnapped on Nov 6 for which an FIR (251/2018) was registered at the Jauharabad police station and later the case was transferred to the AVCC on Nov 15.

The AVCC with the help of modern technology interrogated at least eight persons and detained one of them, Adeel, for further questioning as his statement and movements were found contradictory. After being grilled by the police, Adeel “confessed” to kidnapping and killing Adnan over financial gains and burning his body.

One suspect ‘confesses’ to having committed the heinous crime

On information provided by him, the police also detained their third partner, Shah Jee Khan.

Adeel told the investigators that he and Adnan went to PECHS on the night of Nov 6 for a meeting over some business matter in the latter’s car where he fired three or four shots from his pistol at the victim in a street near Lal Kothi. Later, he took Adnan’s body to a deserted place in Bin Qasim where he burnt it and abandoned it there.

The body was found at the same place and shifted to the Edhi morgue for identification after an autopsy conducted at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre.

On Thursday, the family visited the Edhi morgue at Sohrab Goth and identified Adnan’s body with the help of his partially burnt clothes, said the SSP.

On suspect Adeel’s lead, the police visited the area in Bin Qasim Town where spots of blood were found.

The police also found the victim’s car parked at the cargo terminal of the airport. The AVCC seized the pistol used in the murder, the car keys and a wristwatch of the deceased from the suspect’s home.

Initially, the suspect had parked the victim’s car in Gulistan-i-Jauhar for three days and later on shifted it to the cargo terminal.

Motive

Regarding the motive for the murder, the AVCC SSP said that the victim and the suspects were trading partners and imported diapers.

Before his kidnapping on Nov 6, Adnan’s container containing diapers had arrived whose goods, worth around Rs5 million, were usurped by the suspect, Adeel.

Later, another container of Adnan arrived, whose goods were also usurped by the same suspect. Both containers’ total value was estimated to be over Rs10.5m.

Suspect Adeel claimed that he killed Adnan on the instructions of their other partner, Shah Jee Khan, but the police have doubts about his claims and were further investigating the case, said the SSP.

Published in Dawn, November 30th, 2018