CIA to investigate Zain Rauf murder case

Crucial pieces of evidence not included in crime investigation report.

LAHORE: The investigation of the Zain Rauf murder case was transferred to the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) late on Thursday, a senior police official told The Express Tribune.

The official said Mustafa Kanju, the chief suspect in the case, had also been handed over to the agency amid tight security. He said DSP Khalid Abu Bakr was interrogating him. The official said Kanju would be produced before an anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Saturday (today) to get his physical remand extended. He said DSP Abu Bakr would begin the investigation from scratch to ensure transparency.

“The postmortem report confirmed that the bullet that killed the 16-year-old boy was fired from Kanju’s rifle. The 0.8cm wound on the body of the deceased also proved that the bullet had been fired from an AK-47,” the official said. He said the fingerprints on the weapon had matched with those of Kanju. The official said Kanju had also confessed on Sunday to having fired shots in the air.

An official of the investigation wing said some crucial pieces of evidence had not been included in the crime investigation report formulated by South Cantt investigation in-charge. He said the suspect could use this to his advantage later. The official said Investigation SSP Rana Ayyaz Saleem had assigned the investigation of the case to the CIA Kotwali in the wake of the development.

The South Cantt investigation in-charge told The Express Tribune that he had carried out the investigation on merit. He said no pressure was exerted on him in this regard. The official refused to comment any further.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 11^th, 2015.