KARACHI, Dec 1 A neighbour of a fashion model who was found dead in his partially burnt car in a Nazimabad area was arrested on Tuesday for the murder of the 25-year-old youth, police said.

They said that the accused, Nadim, in his late 40s, had been arrested after investigators gathered information which led to the conclusion that Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqi was killed by his neighbour who had suspected the victim of being fond of his teenage daughter.

“The families of Shoaib and Nadim, who resided in Shadman Town No 2, had known each other for years,” said Station Investigation Officer of the Rizvia Society police station Inspector Mohammad Ishaq.

Last week Nadim somehow persuaded Shoaib to accompany him and killed the young man by strangling him, the police officer said quoting the accused's initial statement to police.

Shoaib was the eldest son among six siblings, said Inspector Ishaq.

“Nadim told us that he first offered Shoaib a fruit juice in which he had added some pills. When Shoaib fell unconscious at night, Nadim drove the car to an isolated place in Nazimabad area to strangle him to death,” he added.

“Since he was not sure that Shoaib had died or not, he tried to set fire to the car, but the fire died down.”

The police nominated the accused in an already registered case (FIR 347/2009) under Sections 302 (premeditated murder) and 435 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to cause damage to amount of one hundred rupees) of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of the victim's elder brother, Obaid Ahmed Siddiqi.