Haleema murder case: Court frames charges against suspected couple
Witnesses summoned to record testimonies in case on October 1
Edhi Foundation identified the body as that of Abdullah’s mother, Halima. PHOTO: COURTESY EDHI FOUNDATION
KARACHI:
The trial of the mysterious murder of a woman, Haleema, is expected to begin on October 1 against the victim's boyfriend Rizwan and his wife, Sonia, as a district and sessions court framed on Saturday alleged murder charges on the suspected couple.
Additional sessions judge (South) indicted Rizwan and Sonia on the basis of the investigation report filed with the court in mid-August, after asking the accused, as a legal formality, if they confess to the crime or opt to contest.
The decomposed body of Haleema, a mother of minor Abdullah, was found in her house in Delhi Colony on May 31 after neighbours called the police complaining of a stench. Six days before, her son was admitted to an Edhi centre as a 'lost child' by the suspect, Rizwan. He claimed that he had found the kid abandoned near Do Darya, Defence Housing Authority. However, the investigators bridged the connection between the two incidents after they matched the credentials lodged for renting the house where Haleema's body was found with the man who dropped the child at the welfare organisation.
Later, it was revealed that Rizwan was reportedly involved in an extra-marital relationship with Haleema and allegedly killed her after she asked him to marry her. According to the police, this was also corroborated by the accused in his statement during initial investigations after he was caught in an 'intelligence-based' raid in the outskirts of the city trying to flee. The suspect's wife, Sonia, was also taken into custody on suspicion of her role in the commission of the offence. The investigation, according to the current investigating officer as said in the charge sheet, has been affected with flaws due to two police officers who either tried to favour the suspects or neglected collecting important evidence such as fingerprints from the crime scene. A departmental inquiry against the two officers is under way.
The judge, presiding over the case, issued summons to the witnesses to appear and record their testimonies on October 1. The couple is in the judicial custody after having their bails rejected from the trial court. The case is registered under sections 302 (premeditated murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of the victim's brother at the Frere police station.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 18th, 2016.
The trial of the mysterious murder of a woman, Haleema, is expected to begin on October 1 against the victim's boyfriend Rizwan and his wife, Sonia, as a district and sessions court framed on Saturday alleged murder charges on the suspected couple.
Additional sessions judge (South) indicted Rizwan and Sonia on the basis of the investigation report filed with the court in mid-August, after asking the accused, as a legal formality, if they confess to the crime or opt to contest.
The decomposed body of Haleema, a mother of minor Abdullah, was found in her house in Delhi Colony on May 31 after neighbours called the police complaining of a stench. Six days before, her son was admitted to an Edhi centre as a 'lost child' by the suspect, Rizwan. He claimed that he had found the kid abandoned near Do Darya, Defence Housing Authority. However, the investigators bridged the connection between the two incidents after they matched the credentials lodged for renting the house where Haleema's body was found with the man who dropped the child at the welfare organisation.
Later, it was revealed that Rizwan was reportedly involved in an extra-marital relationship with Haleema and allegedly killed her after she asked him to marry her. According to the police, this was also corroborated by the accused in his statement during initial investigations after he was caught in an 'intelligence-based' raid in the outskirts of the city trying to flee. The suspect's wife, Sonia, was also taken into custody on suspicion of her role in the commission of the offence. The investigation, according to the current investigating officer as said in the charge sheet, has been affected with flaws due to two police officers who either tried to favour the suspects or neglected collecting important evidence such as fingerprints from the crime scene. A departmental inquiry against the two officers is under way.
The judge, presiding over the case, issued summons to the witnesses to appear and record their testimonies on October 1. The couple is in the judicial custody after having their bails rejected from the trial court. The case is registered under sections 302 (premeditated murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of the victim's brother at the Frere police station.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 18th, 2016.