GUJRAT: Police claimed to have traced the suspects involved in the murder of a woman public prosecutor in Hafizabad some three weeks back, including her husband who allegedly hatched the plan and hired assassins for the purpose.

Deputy district public prosecutor Naila Amjad (35) was gunned down in front of her house on January 11 the last when she left her house for the gym. A murder case was lodged against two unidentified assailants.

Hafizabad District Police Officer Sajid Kiyani told reporters at a news conference on Sunday that soon after the incident the crime scene unit of the Punjab Forensic Science Agency had collected the evidence that helped the investigators in resolving the case. The autopsy report of the deceased also helped the police in tracing the suspects, he added.

According to the DPO, the police investigations revealed that Zaman, the husband of the deceased woman, who was a teacher at a local educational institution, had hatched a conspiracy to kill his wife since the couple would often had domestic disputes.

Mr Kiyani said the main suspect who had been taken into custody over suspicion confessed to have hatched a plan to eliminate his wife with the help of his brother Ali Raza and a cousin, Tahir Bagga. The suspect also revealed to investigators that he had hired two assassins by paying them Rs200,000 to get his wife killed, the DPO added.

The police said the hired suspects -- Rizwan and Javed -- along with three others had been arrested and they too had confessed their crime.

They said the couple that had a three-year old son had a strained relationship. Some six months back Ms Naila had left his husband’s house following a quarrel but their families arranged a patch-up between the husband and the wife.

However, the police said that the main suspect had been planning the murder even before that quarrel.

The murder of a woman public prosecutor in front of her house had shocked many, especially the legal fraternity in Hafizabad and Gujranwala.

The DPO also announced cash prizes and commendation certificates for the police team that resolved the case within a short span of three weeks.

Published in Dawn, February 4th , 2019