ISLAMABAD, July 22: The burnt body of a man was found in a car abandoned in the capital’s rural area here on Monday, police said.

The victim was identified as Ghulam Mustafa, 51, a property dealer by profession who operated his business from F-8.

The villagers had spotted the vehicle engulfed in flames and had informed the Sihala police, which, along with the fire brigade, reached the spot and extinguished the fire.

The body was found from the rear seat of the car, and on examination, it was revealed that the victim’s hands and legs had been tied with separate pieces of rope. The body was shifted to the hospital for legal process.

The police also retrieved the engine and chassis numbers of the car from the wreckage and approached the Excise and Taxation Offices of different districts including Islamabad, where they learnt that the car had been registered in 2003.

Therefore, the police approached the car owner on whose name it was registered, but he told the police that the car had been sold.

Finally, the car was traced to the victim who was its fourth owner and resided in Airport Housing Society Rawalpindi.

The police approached the victim’s family who told them that he had gone for a meeting to purchase land at around 9:00am, but the family was unaware of who the deal was being made with.

The motive behind the murder is yet to be established but it is suspected that business rivalry or enmity resulted in the victim’s death.

Furthermore, police still don’t know whether the victim was set on fire after being murdered or had been burnt alive.

An autopsy on the body is in progress to determine the actual cause of death, police said.