TAXILA: A man who allegedly murdered a woman was arrested by Wah Cantonment police.

Investigation Officer (IO) Khurrum Shahzad said the victim, 25-year-old Hina Akbar, a resident of Gadwal, and former nurse went missing under mysterious circumstances on March 15, when she left her house to go to a training centre. Her mobile phone was also switched off after some time.

The IO said her brother registered an abduction case under section 365-B against unknown kidnappers at Wah Cantonment police station on March 17.

He said later Rescue 1122 officials found her body parts packed in plastic bags near Leh Nullah in Rawalpindi on March 19 in Dhoke Dalal in the jurisdiction of Ganjmandi police station.

Sub-Inspector Mohammad Riaz, the in-charge of the heinous crime investigation unit of the said police station, said Rawalpindi police identified the victim through her fingerprints.

Mohammad Rafeeq, station house officer of Wah Cantonment police station, revealed that an investigation team through mobile data of the victim detected that the girl was in contact with a 35-year-old man, father of two, who was her colleague at the centre, and presently living in Gulshan Raza Colony.

The SHO said further geo-fencing of both mobile phones’ data revealed that on the day she went missing, both remained at the same location for hours.

It was further revealed that the man travelled on the same day on the same route and helped the victim’s family trace her.

Mr Rafeeq revealed that when the suspect was taken into custody for interrogation, he denied his involvement in the case however, later he confessed to the crime, saying that his wife came to know about his extramarital affair with the girl.

He told investigators that the girl asked him to marry her and upon his refusal she threatened to ruin his marital life. The IO said the suspect told them that he took the girl to a farm house near Margalla to settle the issue but she refused to put the issue under the carpet so he killed her and threw her body in Rawalpindi.

Sub Divisional Police Officer Taxila circle ASP Zainab Ayub, while quoting the suspect about reasons behind the cold-blooded murder, said the girl was blackmailing him to marry her or face consequences so “he had no other choice but to get rid of her in such a way that nobody could find any clue about her death”.

Published in Dawn, March 28th, 2023