CTD solves mystery behind college student’s 2015 death
Man’s ‘friends’ kidnapped, murdered him for ransom money, personal enmity
Bilal Rizwan. PHOTO: CTD
KARACHI:
The police’s Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) claimed on Wednesday to have successfully investigated an almost two-year-old case of a young Bahria College student who went missing in Karachi. CTD officials said the boy was killed on the same day of his kidnapping and revealed that the killers were his friends. They kidnapped the student for ransom.
Bilal Rizwan, a 22-year-old resident of alFalah in District East was kidnapped on November 4, 2015. He was murdered the same day but for his family he remained missing. The Sindh High Court also took a notice of the incident and ordered the concerned authorities to recover the young man. Three days after his disappearance, FIR No 361/15 was registered at the Shah Faisal Colony police station on the complaint of Rizwan’s family under Section 365/34 (kidnapping) against unidentified persons.
His body was found nearly a month after his kidnapping, on December 12, 2015.
"Interestingly, his kidnapping and body recovery FIRs were registered at the same police station but no one figured out that the victim was one and the same, as his body was completely burnt," explained CTD incharge Raja Omar Khattab. "The killers were not strangers to Rizwan. They were his own friends who kidnapped and killed him in order to get ransom money."
Unfortunate incident: Woman killed during failed kidnapping bid
Friends or foes?
The friends - Adeel Rehman, Noman Qureshi and Danish Amir – devised a plan to kidnap and kill Rizwan. "There were multiple reasons behind his kidnapping and murder. To kidnap and kill him after getting the ransom money was a definite reason but there was another reason too,” explained Khattab.
Rehman's sister was involved with the victim and Rehman was unhappy with the development. Qureshi considered himself a potential suitor.
Another reason for killing was Rizwan was that they could not free him after kidnapping him, as he was sure to tell everyone what happened, said Khattab.
"The victim came from a wealthy background and Qureshi, who ran a gym, was facing financial losses. He and Rehman decided to first kidnap Rizwan and obtain the ransom money," the officer explained.
Khattab said that during the kidnapping, the suspects tried to make the victim unconscious by injecting him with a sedative after tying his hands and legs with rope but the victim resisted and after an ensuing scuffle, was killed.
Cousin of former Sindh advisor kidnapped
"The victim was killed on the same day but his body was recovered almost a month later," said Khattab. "They hid the body first at their home and then the gym and later dumped it in a garbage dump after a month." The kidnappers wrapped the body up and attempted to cover the odour with scents. When the smell worsened, they burned the body and dumped it in the garbage dump.
Identification
The body was recovered from the garbage dump as an unidentified person and shifted to the Edhi morgue. FIR No 314/15 for the recovery of the body was registered at the alFalah police station on behalf of the state against unidentified persons. During Rizwan’s disappearance his two mobile phones also went missing and were not found with his body.
The police higher ups later took notice of the incident. Sindh IG Allah Dino Khawaja transferred the case to the CTD on January 1, 2016. The CTD officials then started investigating the case.
"With technical assistance, we managed to solve the case," explained Khattab. The officer said that Qureshi, Amir and Rehman's father have been arrested while Rehman and his sister have fled the country and are probably in Dubai. The police are currently trying to arrest the suspects.
Two students among three allegedly kidnapped
The police recovered the victim's mobile phones and a SIM card. "Interestingly, the police, Rangers and other departments had earlier interrogated Rehman, but no one had clue about his involvement in the case. Finally, CTD, with the help of the victim’s mobile phones and the suspects, managed to solve the case," he explained.
Other successes
CTD SSP Omar Shahid Hamid held a press conference on Wednesday where he told the media that the CTD arrested nearly 39 absconders and proclaimed offenders in the last week. "The data of the suspects in the fourth schedule is being computerised. So far the data of nearly 435 out of 590 suspects has been upgraded in the province,” said SSP Hamid. “The 116 suspects released in 2016 would also be put on surveillance," he said. The officer added that the eighth edition of the Red Book would be issued within the next month. The book includes the details of 70 hard core terrorists.
The police’s Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) claimed on Wednesday to have successfully investigated an almost two-year-old case of a young Bahria College student who went missing in Karachi. CTD officials said the boy was killed on the same day of his kidnapping and revealed that the killers were his friends. They kidnapped the student for ransom.
Bilal Rizwan, a 22-year-old resident of alFalah in District East was kidnapped on November 4, 2015. He was murdered the same day but for his family he remained missing. The Sindh High Court also took a notice of the incident and ordered the concerned authorities to recover the young man. Three days after his disappearance, FIR No 361/15 was registered at the Shah Faisal Colony police station on the complaint of Rizwan’s family under Section 365/34 (kidnapping) against unidentified persons.
His body was found nearly a month after his kidnapping, on December 12, 2015.
"Interestingly, his kidnapping and body recovery FIRs were registered at the same police station but no one figured out that the victim was one and the same, as his body was completely burnt," explained CTD incharge Raja Omar Khattab. "The killers were not strangers to Rizwan. They were his own friends who kidnapped and killed him in order to get ransom money."
Unfortunate incident: Woman killed during failed kidnapping bid
Friends or foes?
The friends - Adeel Rehman, Noman Qureshi and Danish Amir – devised a plan to kidnap and kill Rizwan. "There were multiple reasons behind his kidnapping and murder. To kidnap and kill him after getting the ransom money was a definite reason but there was another reason too,” explained Khattab.
Rehman's sister was involved with the victim and Rehman was unhappy with the development. Qureshi considered himself a potential suitor.
Another reason for killing was Rizwan was that they could not free him after kidnapping him, as he was sure to tell everyone what happened, said Khattab.
"The victim came from a wealthy background and Qureshi, who ran a gym, was facing financial losses. He and Rehman decided to first kidnap Rizwan and obtain the ransom money," the officer explained.
Khattab said that during the kidnapping, the suspects tried to make the victim unconscious by injecting him with a sedative after tying his hands and legs with rope but the victim resisted and after an ensuing scuffle, was killed.
Cousin of former Sindh advisor kidnapped
"The victim was killed on the same day but his body was recovered almost a month later," said Khattab. "They hid the body first at their home and then the gym and later dumped it in a garbage dump after a month." The kidnappers wrapped the body up and attempted to cover the odour with scents. When the smell worsened, they burned the body and dumped it in the garbage dump.
Identification
The body was recovered from the garbage dump as an unidentified person and shifted to the Edhi morgue. FIR No 314/15 for the recovery of the body was registered at the alFalah police station on behalf of the state against unidentified persons. During Rizwan’s disappearance his two mobile phones also went missing and were not found with his body.
The police higher ups later took notice of the incident. Sindh IG Allah Dino Khawaja transferred the case to the CTD on January 1, 2016. The CTD officials then started investigating the case.
"With technical assistance, we managed to solve the case," explained Khattab. The officer said that Qureshi, Amir and Rehman's father have been arrested while Rehman and his sister have fled the country and are probably in Dubai. The police are currently trying to arrest the suspects.
Two students among three allegedly kidnapped
The police recovered the victim's mobile phones and a SIM card. "Interestingly, the police, Rangers and other departments had earlier interrogated Rehman, but no one had clue about his involvement in the case. Finally, CTD, with the help of the victim’s mobile phones and the suspects, managed to solve the case," he explained.
Other successes
CTD SSP Omar Shahid Hamid held a press conference on Wednesday where he told the media that the CTD arrested nearly 39 absconders and proclaimed offenders in the last week. "The data of the suspects in the fourth schedule is being computerised. So far the data of nearly 435 out of 590 suspects has been upgraded in the province,” said SSP Hamid. “The 116 suspects released in 2016 would also be put on surveillance," he said. The officer added that the eighth edition of the Red Book would be issued within the next month. The book includes the details of 70 hard core terrorists.