In the lockup: PTI leader's alleged murderer sent to police custody till Oct 2

KARACHI:

The alleged mastermind of the murder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Zahra Shahid in Clifton was remanded to police custody for interrogation on Friday.

Anti-terrorism court judge Saleem Raza Baloch ordered the investigation officer, Inspector Mobin Ahmed, to produce the suspect and submit a progress report in court by October 2.

Shahid was shot dead by unidentified men in front of her house in Defense Phase IV - hours before the re-election at polling stations in the NA-250 constituency on May 17, 2013.

Sixteen months later, the city police chief claimed to have tracked down three suspects for their involvement in the murder, including the man who plotted the murder, on Monday.

On Friday, the investigation officer of the case produced one of the suspects, identified as Muhammad Rashid alias Master, in court to seek physical custody.

The official alleged that the suspect was initially arrested for possessing illicit arms, but had disclosed that he had masterminded the murder during interrogation. Ahmed claimed that the suspect had also named his accomplices, Lala alias Jahangir and Mehmood Ateeq, who are still at large.

Ahmed said that the arrested suspect needed to be interrogated further to complete the investigation and track down the remaining suspects.

He requested the court to allow the suspect in custody for further investigation.

The court granted the police with physical custody of the suspect till October 2.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 27^th, 2014.