The new Joint Investigation Team (JIT), formed after the removal of DPO Abbottabad to probe the murder of Dr. Warda Mushtaq, who was a medical officer at DHQ Hospital, Abbottabad, began its working today, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Monday.
The team visited the places where the deceased was taken after her abduction and where her body was concealed.
The team also visited Dr. Warda’s grave.
The team is being headed by Khayam Hussain, while AIG Sonia Shimroz has also been included in it.
Besides that, there are doctors, lawyers, the officials of the CTD, Special Branch and the prosecution in the team.
Gurdwara sealed
Also on Monday, the administration sealed and took in its possession an old gurdwara which Waheed, the husband of Rida, a suspect in Dr. Warda murder case, had obtained on lease and turned it into a shopping mall.
Suspect in murder case produced in court
Pervaiz, who had been taken into custody in connection with the murder of Dr. Warda, was produced before a local magistrate where he recorded an important statement.
On Sunday, a key suspect in the murder case of Dr. Warda, identified as Shamrez, was killed during a police encounter in Abbottabad.
According to details, Shamrez had been an absconder in the case and was also wanted in connection with multiple murder cases before Dr Warda’s killing.
Authorities said that police had conducted a series of raids over ten days in pursuit of the suspect, eventually locating him in Thandiani.
When officers attempted to apprehend him, Shamrez allegedly opened fire on the police, prompting a counteraction that resulted in his death.
Shamrez was reportedly hired as a professional killer in the Dr Warda case.
Investigators revealed that after the murder, Dr Warda’s body had been concealed in Thandiani by the suspect.
Also on Sunday, 24News TV channel reported that shocking revelations had been made during an investigation into the murder of Dr. Warda.
Pervaiz, an accomplice of the main culprit, told interrogators that Rida, Warda’s friend since childhood, kept beating her before murdering her.
Throughout that period, the suspect said, Dr. Warda kept demanding that gold be returned to her, but Rida kept refusing.
On Saturday, DPO Abbottabad Haroon Rasheed’s name was removed from the provincial joint investigation team (JIT), probing the murder of Warda after the family of the late doctor expressed its reservations over the police’s role in the investigation.
The chief secretary issued a new notification in this regard.
On Friday, the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) had constituted a high-level JIT to probe the abduction and brutal murder of the lady doctor.
The decision came after mounting public outrage and persistent demands from the medical community for a transparent, independent and expeditious inquiry.
Earlier, the DPO Abbottabad had taken notice of the investigation into the murder of Dr Warda, resulting in the suspension of SHO Muhammad Zubair of Cantonment Police Station.
According to police officials, the SHO was suspended due to negligence and failure to take timely action in the case.
On Monday, the KP police recovered the body of Dr Warda, who was abducted four days ago from the Benazir Shaheed District Hospital in Abbottabad, from a remote hilly area on Thandiani Road, Lari Binota.
According to police, Dr Warda left the hospital with her friend, Rida, a few days ago.
Following her disappearance, police arrested Rida along with two other individuals.
Police sources said that the late doctor had kept approximately 67 tolas of gold jewellery with her friend since 2023.
Dr Warda had reportedly gone to reclaim her jewellery.
Police added that Rida took Dr Warda to her under-construction house and handed her over to suspects Aurangzeb and Nadeem, who killed her in the Lari Binota area.
Acting on the suspects’ information, police recovered the body and transferred it to the DHQ Hospital for a post-mortem.
Reporter: Zubair Awan