ISLAMABAD: The capital police have added the murder charge to the case earlier registered over the death of a teenage boy whose body was recovered in a ravine on the Margalla Hills on Monday, police said.

The mother of the boy lodged a complaint with the police to add the murder section to the case.

In her complaint, she stated that on May 25 her son Mohammad Taha left for Trail-5 along with his five friends and then went missing. Over the incident, an FIR was registered on May 26 at the Secretariat police station under section 365 of the PPC.

On May 27, the body of her son was found in the forest area at Trail-5, it said, adding the five friends of her son returned home safely.

“It is requested to add section of murder to the case and the friends of my son should be interrogated,” the complaint said. The investigation of the case should be carried out from every aspect and facts should be unveiled, it added.

Taha, 15, disappeared on Margalla Hills’ Trail-5 on May 25 after he along with his friends went there for hiking. Later, his friends called her mother and asked whether he had returned home or not.

In response, her mother reached Trail-5 in search of Taha and also informed the police. The police also reached the area and a search was conducted till late at night, but without any clue to the whereabouts of the boy.

On Monday morning, the body of Taha was found by the wildlife staff in a deep ravine between Pir Sohawa and Bari Imam. A police spokesman confirmed that Taha’s mother had lodged a complaint with the police on Thursday seeking the addition of the murder charge.

He said one of the deceased boy’s friends got an injury to his back after falling down. In this regard, investigations are being conducted to ascertain under what circumstances he had sustained the injury, he added.

The investigators are also getting statements of the wildlife staff who had found the body. Besides, officials of Rangers deployed on the trail were approached to verify the statement of the boy’s friends.

In their statements, the friends said one of them hurt his leg and was unable to walk. As a result, some of them left in search of help while Taha left them saying he was going down.

The Rangers officials are being asked whether the boys had approached them for assistance in connection with the injury or not, he said.

Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2024