RAWALPINDI: Police on Tuesday arrested a man for his alleged involvement in the murder of a 14-month-old boy and his mother three days ago.

They also said the suspect had confessed to the crime during preliminary interrogation.

A source close to the investigation revealed that a dagger believed to be the murder weapon and some broken pieces of bangles and earrings of the victim had also been recovered by the police team from the crime scene.

He said the police were considering investigating the elder sister of the suspect identified as Wajid Ali Kashmiri as she was allegedly in contact with him while he was on the run. The suspect had been using different SIM cards and swapping them after every six to seven hours.

Police conducted a raid at the suspect’s brother-in-law’s house, but he escaped after being informed allegedly by his sister, the source said, adding the suspect went to his relative’s house in Gujrat, but clues from one of his relatives helped the police trace him.

The suspect, who had been on the run since stabbing to death the child in front of his mother on Saturday after raping and then stabbing her, was arrested by police from Chak Beli area on Tuesday.

Later, the child’s mother, 30, also died in District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital, Rawalpindi.

Earlier, police teams led by SP Saddar Kamran Haider, SP investigation and assisted by SHO (Chauntra) Mohammad Asif were formed to trace the murder suspect. On Tuesday, the police also released a photograph of the “most wanted” suspect and sought public help to arrest him.

After his arrest, the suspect narrated different stories – one of them was that the woman, who was already married, wanted to marry him, but due to age difference he refused, a source close to the investigation revealed. He also claimed that they would meet often.

“The accused has confessed to killing the woman and sexually abusing her because of having suspicion she was involved with someone else,” the source said.

On the other hand, the deceased’s sister, who is the complainant, disputed this and said that the victim had been living with her uncle owing to her husband’s addiction but he would frequently visit his family in Rawat.

She told Dawn that her sister used to visit Chak Beli for begging where she met the suspect. While recalling the day, she said some passers-by spotted her sister screaming in the woods and later informed the police.

“The child had died on the spot while his mother was unable to give her statement though she spoke some words to a junior police official before being shifted to hospital,” she said.

Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2021