KARACHI: Police on Saturday claimed to have arrested a man for his alleged involvement in dumping the body of a young woman in a drum at a plot in Defence Housing Authority on Friday.

DIG-South Syed Asad Raza told Dawn that the victim was identified as Haseena, who worked as a housemaid in DHA. The body was recovered near Fatima Masjid in DHA, Phase-VII, late on Friday night, he said.

He said that the victim reportedly lived with a driver, identified as Hazratullah, in their rented home in Qayyumabad. He said that Hazratullah, 32, worked as a driver with a Chinese national in DHA, where he developed friendship with Haseena who also worked in the same neighbourhood.

He said that the plot was at a distance of around half kilometre from the residence of Hazratullah.

Decomposed corpse found in a drum at a vacant plot in Phase VII; police treating her ‘friend’ as murder suspect

The suspect, who originally hailed from Tank, was missing from duty since Wednesday. He phoned the policemen posted at his employer’s house that his friend Sohaib Hayat murdered Haseena, the DIG said.

He said that the police arrested a man who allegedly facilitated Hazratullah in dumping the body. He identified the suspect as Adil.

The investigators said that Haseena, whose real name was Wazir Mai, was married and originally hailed from Bahawalpur.

About Hazratullah’s phone contact, he said he told the policemen that when he returned home, he found Haseena dead. He said with the help of his friend Adil, he wrapped the body in a plastic sheet, put it in a drum and threw it at the plot.

“We are waiting for the family to contact the police; otherwise we will register a murder case on behalf of the state against the suspects,” said the DIG.

Police Surgeon Summaiya Syed told Dawn that the body was in an advanced stage of decomposition when it was brought to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for a post-mortem examination.

“All samples have been collected, and the exact cause of death has been reserved until receipt of reports,” she said.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2023