Ex-wife’s ‘murderer’ to be taken to Lahore for DNA test

Police recover weapon used in killing of US-Pakistani woman

ISLAMABAD:

Morgah police have decided to take Rizwan Habib, the main accused in the murder of Pakistani-American Wajiha Swati, to Lahore for his DNA test.

Police sources said that the accused will be taken to Lahore under tight security. They said that the murder weapon, the vehicle used for transporting the body to Khyber-Pakhtunkwa and other items recovered from the accused will also be cross-matched with the DNA of the accused.

Police sources told The Express Tribune that samples of slain Wajiha Swati have already been transferred to the Lahore Forensic Laboratory for the DNA of the victim. The investigative team has decided to gather more evidence against Rizwan Habib, the ex-husband and the main accused besides carrying out his DNA test.

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All the items recovered from the accused's possession will undergo a DNA test to garner adequate evidence against the accused in the court, the sources said.

The sources said that during the interrogation, the investigation team also recovered a murder weapon, the vehicle used to transport the body from Rawalpindi to Landi Kotal, Wajiha Swati's personal belongings including mobile phone, jacket, handbag, and other items.

The police sources said that all the items recovered from the accused would also undergo test and the DNA reports will be made part of the challan.

They said that all concrete evidence will be presented in the court so that the accused could be punished.

Meanwhile, no decision could be made to shift the body of Wajiha Swati to the United States for burial four days after it was recovered from a home. The deceased's body is lying at the District Headquarters Hospital Rawalpindi with police personnel on duty.

The victim's children have requested to allow them to shift the body to the United States for burial.

The sources said that the authorities concerned and the family of the victim were in touch regarding the possibility of shifting the body to the US. However, no decision has yet been made in this regard.

Rizwan Habib, the main accused in the Wajiha Swati kidnapping and murder case, his father and personal employee will be produced in court on Wednesday (today) after their three-day physical remand was complete.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 29^th, 2021.