Man indicted over TikTok star killing

ISLAMABAD:

A man accused of shooting dead a 17-year-old TikTok star at her home in the federal capital after she had repeatedly rejected his advances was formally indicted Saturday.

Sana Yousaf's murder in June drew nationwide condemnation and reignited debate over women's safety, after some online comments — alongside condolences — blamed her for her own death.

The 22-year-old accused, Umar Hayat, pleaded not guilty in Islamabad's district and sessions court.

"All the allegations made against me are baseless and false," the accused told Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka.

During the hearing, the judge enquired whether Hayat had killed Sana. "I did not commit any such crime," the accused replied.

The judge then asked him whether he was falsely accused in the case.

"Is this all a lie?" the judge remarked. He also pointed out that Hayat had also been accused of snatching Yousaf's mobile phone.

At that, the accused maintained that all allegations levelled against him were "based on falsehood".

The court then adjourned the hearing until September 25.

Islamabad police had arrested Hayat on June 3, a day after Yousaf was killed at her house in Islamabad.

Preceding his arrest, a first information report (FIR) of the murder was registered at Islamabad's Sumbal police station against an unidentified man on the complaint of Sana's mother, Farzana Yousaf, invoking Section 302 (intentional murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

In the FIR, Yousaf's mother said that a man with a pistol in his hand had entered their house suddenly at around 5pm and "shot straight at my daughter with the intention to kill".

Later, Islamabad Inspector General (IG) Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi had said during a press conference the police had arrested a suspect, who was a was a 22-year-old man, from Faisalabad.

He said Hayat had tried to contact Yousaf repeatedly and was being "rejected by her again and again", adding that the accused had taken Yousaf's mobile phone in a bid to wipe out the evidence but it had been recovered along with the weapon of offence.

On July 25, police had formally submitted the challan against Hayat to the prosecution branch of the district and sessions courts. It also included Hayat's confessional statement recorded under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

In his statement, Hayat - son of a retired government official and a TikToker himself — said he had developed a one-sided infatuation with Sana after connecting with her through social media. He had confessed that suspicion and jealousy drove him to kill her.

Hayat revealed that he had travelled from Jaranwala to Islamabad on May 28 to wish Sana on her birthday. When she did not meet him, he became convinced she was deliberately avoiding him, he said, adding that On June 2, he returned to the capital after renting a Toyota Fortuner and carrying a 30-bore pistol, intending to confront her.