Another suspect in Noor case arrested

Suspect sent on judicial remand on police request

ISLAMABAD:

Islamabad police have arrested another suspect in the Noor Muqaddam murder case.

Jan Muhammad, who is said to be the gardener of the prime suspect, Zahir Jaffer, was arrested from Mansehra. The suspect was produced in a local court after his arrest.

Islamabad District and Sessions Court Magistrate Shehzad Khan sent the suspect to jail on a 14-day judicial remand on a request of police and ordered them to produce him in court again on August 28.

During the hearing, Public Prosecutor Sajid Cheema and the case’s investigating officer told the court that the investigation about the suspect has been completed, therefore, he should be sent to jail on judicial remand.

In addition, the prosecution requested the court to summon two other accomplices, Iftikhar and Jamil. The court inquired about the rationale behind summoning the two suspects through court summon.

The public prosecutor told the court that both of them have to undergo a DNA test for which they have to be taken to Lahore.

Read NA body seeks report on Noor’s case

Later, the investigating officer said that if the court summons them on Monday, then both the offenders will be taken to Polyclinic and their blood samples will be obtained. The court ordered to produce both the suspects before the court on Monday.

After the court appearance, the gardener of the prime suspect, in an informal chat with the media, said that he was present outside the house at the time of the incident. He said that he saw the victim jumping from the balcony and hiding in the security guard’s cabin. According to him, the culprit, Zahir Jafar, came downstairs, grabbed her by the hand, and dragged her back inside the house.

The suspect said that Noor had been visiting the house for three years. The main suspect in the murder case and his parents are in Adiala Jail on judicial remand.

The suspect’s parent’s Zakir Jaffer and Ismat Adamjees bail applications were rejected earlier.

The 26-year-old Noor Muqaddam, who was the daughter of the former ambassador to South Korea, was killed in Islamabad allegedly by Zahir Zamir, son of Zakir Jaffer, whose family was the ex-diplomat’s acquaintances.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 15^th, 2021.