RAWALPINDI: Police have arrested a suspect in a blind murder case involving a prize bond dealer, who was kidnapped along with Rs4.5 million nine days ago from the City Police area in the garrison city.

Alleged killer Mehr Ali, arrested by the police, was produced before a magistrate on Saturday, who remanded him for three days for further investigation, the police said, claiming that the victim was kidnapped and later killed by his cousin for money.

According to sources close to the investigation, the police have solved the case and arrested the suspect with the help of modern technology and human intelligence and also recovered blood-stained cash to the tune of Rs2 million and the victim’s vest in which the money was kept. The suspect had thrown the victim’s mobile phone in a drain so that he could not be traced. The police have started an investigation by collecting forensic evidence.

Sheikh Ashraf, a resident of Lalazar, registered a case on December 27 and informed the police that he dealt in prize bonds. On December 26, a person named Saqib Rehman called him and asked about his son Mohsin Ashraf. He said that he had given Rs4.5 million to Mohsin on December 25, so it was necessary to discuss it with him. When the son did not return home, he started searching for him, but he could not be found.

Relative ‘confesses’ to killing the dealer who went missing over a week ago

The police also informed the emergency services. Two days later, the police found his son’s abandoned car in the remits of the Sadar Barooni police station and started an investigation.

Following the kidnapping case, CPO Rawalpindi Khalid Hamdani assigned Rawal SP Muhammad Haseeb to trace the victim. DSP City Azhar Shah and a police team comprising SHO City Nadeem Altaf and the investigation officer, along with the Rawalpindi police’s technical experts, expanded the scope of the probe and started investigating phone records of the deceased as well as those who were in contact with him.

Mehr Ali, a cousin of the victim, was among the people contacted by the deceased before he disappeared. Upon this, the police started investigating the said person through human intelligence.

It was revealed that the said person, who melted animal fats for a living, had a significant change in his lifestyle for the past few days. Upon this, the police took the suspect into custody and started questioning him.

During questioning, the suspect allegedly disclosed that he had brought his cousin Mohsin Ashraf to his home in Samar Zar Colony at Adiala Road and killed him with a knife to steal his money. He also allegedly confessed that he had burnt the body in a karahi (wok) and threw away his cell phone. According to police sources, it was revealed that the suspect started giving large sums of money in advance to his customers, even though he worked with them on credit. Similarly, the suspect also took a friend into confidence regarding the incident.

The police on the suspect’s identification also found the victim’s special vest, which business people wear to keep money, under a stone. Similarly, Rs0.5 million was recovered from the suspect’s house, which was stained with blood, while Rs0.2 million given to various customers was also recovered by the police. The investigation is ongoing, with the suspect in police custody.

Published in Dawn, January 5th, 2025