PESHAWAR, July 9: Expressing displeasure over poor investigation into the honour-related killing of a woman and her two minor sons, a Peshawar High Court single bench on Monday summoned the crimes branch’s three officials, including a deputy inspector general.

While serving summons on the DIG and investigation officers DSP Inayat Shah and sub-inspector Hasnain Agha, Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan observed that the crimes branch hadn’t performed duty in the court in line with the court orders due to involvement of some influential personalities.

The court asked the station house officer of Par Hoti police station, Mardan, too, to show up to explain why Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act had not been included in the FIR.

Also, it stayed the trial in the case directing the relevant court to defer the hearing until next order.

The court granted bail to the slain woman’s husband, Ahtesham, directing him to furnish personal guarantee of Rs10,000 for the purpose. It observed that the man was falsely implicated in the case by his in-laws to cover up their crime.

The issue had surfaced on December 8, 2011 when the bodies of Nargis and her children, including Shahan and Alisha, were recovered in an area within the jurisdiction of Par Hoti police station. The bodies were dismembered.

The mother and brother of the slain woman later charged Ahtesham and his two brothers, Mohammad Iqbal and Mohammad Ashfaq, with killing the three. There followed the arrest of the alleged killers.

The chief justice had taken suo motu notice of these killings on a written request of the arrested men’s sister. He later ordered re-investigation into the case by the crimes branch.

Mr Iqbal and Mr Ashfaq were freed on the high court orders in April last. The court had directed the investigation officers to collect more evidence against suspects.

The re-investigation by the crimes branch suggested that the woman left her house a few years ago and had a love marriage with Ahtesham before settling in Rawalpindi. It also said the woman’s parents and other relatives planned to kill her and her two children and invited them to see them in Mardan for the purpose.

During re-investigation, the crimes branch arrested six persons, including slain woman’s mother Niaz Bibi, brother Kalimullah, sister’s husband Arbab Nasir, maternal aunt Zeenat Bibi and relatives Aurangzeb and Bashir.

It revealed that the accused had promised Arbab Nasir that if he helped them kill the woman and her children, the sister of Ms Nargis would be married to him and that after the murder, the promise was fulfilled.

Bashir and Aurangzeb have already confessed to being involved in the case.

During the hearing, the counsel for Ahtesham claimed that a brother of Arbab Nasir, who was a local ANP leader, was influencing investigation to ensure his brother’s release.

After examining the record, the chief justice observed that even during re-investigation, the two investigation officers didn’t fulfilled their duty for being influenced by ‘someone’.