No headway on Gaddafi Stadium killings

Suspect thought to have committed suicide after killing the women.

LAHORE: City police is still tying to uncover details regarding the killing of three women and their assailant’s subsequent suicide on Wednesday in Gaddafi stadium.

The post mortem of the bodies of the deceased was completed at Mayo Hospital on Thursday. The preliminary autopsy report received by the police stated that Farida, the mother of the other two women, had received a bullet in a shoulder. The report said the bullet had pierced through flesh and travelled to her neck. Maida, 18, and Naila, 22, were shot in their necks according to the report. Muhammad Bashir, the suspect, received a bullet in the head. The police’s investigation has concluded seven shots had been fired from a 0.30-bore pistol found in Bashir’s hand.

The bodies of the deceased were handed over to their families on Thursday. Younis, Farida’s husband, received the bodies with Aziz, his son.  They refused to speak to reporters at the spot.

An official from the investigation wing told The Express Tribune that Bashir was being considered the prime suspect in the case. He said it was premature to rule out the possibility of someone else having killed the deceased. The official said this was due to the fact that one of the women had messaged her brother saying that Bashir had shot them. He said she could have called him instead. The official said this made the possibility of someone else having killed them likely.

Model Town Investigation SP Rizwan told The Express Tribune confirmed that police were probing the possible involvement of a fifth person in the episode. He said each of the women had received bullets in their necks. SP Rizwan said this often resulted in instant death. He said it would be nearly impossible for a person in this state to send a message.

SP Rizwan said some evidence gathered from the spot had been sent for a gunfire residue test. He said the results of the test would be available on Friday. SP Rizwan said the results would assist the police in choosing a relevant angle to probe the case. He said the results of forensic tests would also be available on the same day.

Another police official told The Express Tribune that messages from Bashir had been found in Maida’s mobile phone. He said he had insisted on meeting her for one last time. SP Rizwan said police had obtained the call and text records of the deceased. Initial investigations revealed that Bashir had spent most of his life in Malaysia and Sri Lanka. He was mentally unfit and had attempted suicide in Malaysia. Investigations have revealed that he had served prison time in the country for attempting suicide. Police has also found that Bashir was indebted to the tune of Rs70 million and had been disowned by his family.

The FIR of the case has been registered on Younis’s complaint.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 6^th, 2015.