Remand of woman’s murder accused extended

Legal documents being prepared to shift victim’s body to US

RAWALPINDI:

Duty Civil Judge Tariq Khan on Wednesday extended for three days the physical remand of three accused including Rizwan Habib, the main accused in the murder of his former wife Wajih Swati, whose body was recovered by the Morgah police from Landi Kotal five days back.

Rizwan Habib, his Hurriyatullah and their domestic worker Sultan Khan were produced in the court under strict security on the expiry of their three-day physical remand.

The police pleaded with the court to extend the physical remand of the accused of five days, however, the judge extended the remand for three days. The judge directed the police to complete the investigation and submit a complete report at the next hearing on January 1.

After seeking the physical remand, the police shifted the accused to the Civil Lines Police Station for interrogation.

The investigative team also recovered a sharp knife from the accused's possession. The police have also recovered the vehicle used to transport the victim’s body to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The police have also sealed the house from where the body of the victim was recovered.

Police have also recovered clothes and a purse of the victim from the house.

Meanwhile, the lawyer of the victim family, Shabnam Nawaz Awan, told The Express Tribune outside the court that a DNA test of the victim and her family members has also been. She said that the victim's family members earlier visited the Lahore forensic lab to get their samples done.

The lawyer said that earlier, the attitude of the police towards the accused was friendly and everybody could meet him, but now the investigation was under way according to the law. “We are satisfied that the case is being monitored by high-ups. I am in touch with officials of the US embassy as well,” said Shabnam Nawaz.

She also said that the preparation of documents to transfer the victim's body to the United States within 48 hours has also entered the final stage. Relatives of the deceased have been told that as soon as the police complete the legal requirements, the body will be taken to the US.

Rizwan Habib hid divorce papers from police

Meanwhile, accused Rizwan Habib had divorced Wajiha Swati a year ago but he hid it from the police.

Earlier, the accused was claiming Wajiha Swati as his wife but the slain woman’s family denied it. According to the documents recovered by the police, Rizwan Habib divorced Wajiha on November 10, 2020.

According to the divorce papers, the accused did not pay 2.5 million and 50 ounces of gold as “Haq Mahr” to Wajiha. The accused married to Wajiha Swati on November 6, 2014. The divorce papers also carried the signature and thumbprint of Rizwan Habib's signature and thumbprint.

An investigating officer told The Express Tribune police have recovered two suitcases of Wajiha Swati and a carpet used to wrap up the victim’s body on the identification of the accused.

Meanwhile, the victim's body is still lying in the morgue of the DHQ Hospital Rawalpindi with police personnel on duty.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 30^th, 2021.