Impressive start: Homicide investigation teams close 12 cases in two months

Overall, 14 cases solved in less than four months; case of army officer’s killing still unsolved

ISLAMABAD: The homicide investigation unit (HIU) of the Islamabad Police has solved at least 14 murder cases since its inauguration on September 28 last year. The brainchild of Islamabad IGP Tariq Masood Yasin, HIU has been designed on the lines of the specialised homicide investigation unit of the Punjab Police.

Police say there was a need for a well-trained and well-equipped unit to deal with murder cases in the capital since these cases were being neglected at the police station level. It is pertinent to note here that the capital registered at least 97 murder incidents in 2016, 115 in 2015, and 152 in 2014.  The unit’s establishment was announced by the IGP on September 28, 2016, and became operational at the end of October.

The unit comprises five teams, each team having an inspector, a sub-inspector, an ASI and three constables. Every team has its own specially-designed vehicle equipped for crime scene inspection and evidence collection.

Each team also has a revolving investigation fund of Rs35,000 for a case apart from TADA if they have to travel to other cities for investigation.

HIU teams deal with homicide cases exclusively and a team cannot be assigned more than 20 cases in a year, to ensure proper handling of caseloads.

Officers say murder cases were being properly investigated at police stations because of shortages of investigation officers and resources, as well as heavy caseloads.

HIU officials say analysis of mobile phone records of the victim and the suspects, monitoring of surveillance cameras and forensic evidence helped them resolve most of the cases.

Investigation SP Muhammad Ilyas, who supervises HIU, says investigators had been provided with some basic training, and more specialised training, particularly in forensics, was on the cards.

According to documents obtained by The Express Tribune, HIU has solved at least 14 murder cases since its establishment. It cracked 12 of the 15 cases allocated to it in November and December.

Some high-profile cases traced by HIU so far include a woman whose body was found in a bag near Sabzi Mandi on IJP Road on September 25.

For a few days police were stumped for clues before they found out that she was strangulated to death by her husband and dumped by the roadside. Police suspect it was an honour killing. The suspect had flown to Saudi Arabia from Lahore a day after the incident. Red warrants were issued for him, while five accomplices were nabbed.

HIU was also able to track down and arrest the prime suspect after a hotel owner was gunned down inside his hotel in G-7 Markaz on December 9.  The suspect was arrested during a raid on his sister’s house in Bhara Kahu on December 20.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 21^st, 2017.