Police arrest couple’s murderer

Cops say suspect confessed to killing husband, wife in New Karachi over unpaid debts

KARACHI:

The prime suspect involved in the murder of a couple in New Karachi has been arrested, the police said on Sunday.

According to New Karachi Investigation Police, the suspect, Muhammad Rafi, has confessed to killing Jameel Ahmed and his wife Riffat. The police said that the murder weapon - a hammer - was also found in Rafi’s possession.

The bodies of a couple brutally murdered were found from a house in New Karachi’s Sector 11L on February 18. The cops had said the bodies bore torture marks and evidence of being hit by sharp and blunt objects. After collecting evidence, including a heavy stone, the cops had cordoned off the house and lodged a case under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Rafi revealed during interrogation that he is an electrician and Ahmed’s son, Iqbal, was his employee, said the police. Ahmed and Rafi became well acquainted through Iqbal and the deceased lent Rafi money a few times.

The total debt amounted to Rs1.4 million and Ahmed would collect Rs72,000 each month from Rafi in interests, the cops said.

According to police, Rafi planned Ahmed’s murder when it became difficult for him to pay the interest each month after he lost his business.

The police said that Rafi went to Ahmed’s house on February 17 on the pretext of paying him money but once inside, he hit Ahmed on the head with a hammer that he had hidden in jacket. Rafi killed Riffat with the same hammer when she caught him in the act and began shouting for help, added the police.

The suspect then took off with the Ahmed’s bookkeeping diary, mobile phones of the deceased and a cheque that he had given to the deceased, said the police, adding that Rafi set the diary ablaze and threw the hammer in a drain near his apartment.

According to police, Ahmed was a physician, who also worked as a spiritual healer.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 1^st, 2021.