HYDERABAD, Oct 31: Ahmed Detho, who along with his associates is accused of having killed his daughter and her husband, surrendered himself to the Hyderabad police on Tuesday.

Hyderabad SSP Farid Jan Sarhandi told a news conference in his office earlier that Ahmed Detho’s nephew Azam Detho had also been arrested.

“Ahmed Detho has confessed to having murdered his daughter,” the SSP declared and said he had sought the permission of the Sindh High Court Chief Justice to interrogate senior civil judge of Jacobabad Mohammad Saleem Qambrani in the double murder case.

“Our Prosecution DSP has sought the Sindh High Court’s permission for exhumation of the woman’s body and examination of the man’s bones. It will be delivered to the court in Karachi by hand,” SSP Sarhandi told Dawn on Wednesday evening.

The couple — Ishtiaq Sheikh and Samia Detho — had married in November last year against the will of their parents. They left the city to escape a possible revengeful act until the Dethos allowed them to return to their village, Mangar Mori, on August 23.

However, it emerged recently that they were murdered in the Yousuf Shah graveyard. Samia was to have been eight months pregnant when she was killed and her body buried. Mr Sheikh’s body was thrown in the jungle and said to have been devoured by wild animals.

His elder brother, Ismail Sheikh, lodged an FIR against 22 suspects including judge Qambrani and his son Bilawal. Bilawal has already been arrested and remanded in police custody until Nov 5.

It is learnt that Ahmed Detho, who works in Islamabad, surrendered himself to the police after intervention by some influential people.

He reportedly told the police that Ishtiaq Sheikh was murdered by Qasim Detho and Haji Detho. “There were seven people present at the scene where Samia was murdered and her father himself killed her,” said the SSP quoting Ahmed Detho.

The SSP further said that the Hyderabad sessions judge had ordered formation of a medical board for exhumation of the woman’s body on Thursday. “The members of board will get samples for DNA tests and other examinations of the body as well as remains of the man,” he said.

The investigating officer of the case, Manzoor Wadhu, who had filed an application to the sessions court, also confirmed that directives for the setting up of the medical board had been issued on Wednesday.