On Thursday, a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) was formed to probe the murder case of Mustafa Amir, while the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) granted another five-day physical remand of the main accused, Armaghan Qureshi.
According to details, the JIT will be led by DIG Muqaddas Haider, while Inspector Muhammad Ali will serve as the investigation officer.
On the other hand, the police presented Armaghan Qureshi before the ATC, where the accused made shocking claims, saying, “Don’t hand me over to the police. They torture me. I haven’t been allowed to use the washroom for 10 days.”
The court, however, rejected his claim, stating, “It is impossible that you were denied access to a washroom for 10 days. If that were the case, you wouldn’t be standing here.”
The prosecution argued that Armaghan had already undergone a medical examination before the High Court, proving he was in stable condition. They added, “The accused is cunning and dangerous. Until the charge sheet is complete, the investigation officer has the right to restrict his meetings.”
During the hearing, the investigation officer informed the court that the girl, Zuma, had been traced and her statement needed to be recorded. Therefore, further remand of the accused was necessary.
Meanwhile, defence lawyer Abid Zaman highlighted the importance of the alleged four-hour police encounter and demanded the call record of Armaghan’s emergency call to 15 be produced.
He also pointed out that while YouTubers were conducting interviews with accused individuals, Shiraz’s lawyer had also been denied access to his client. He urged the court to allow Armaghan to meet his lawyer.
In response, the court permitted a meeting inside the courtroom before finally granting a five-day extension in Armaghan’s remand.
It is worth mentioning that investigative sources have already uncovered that a Karachi police officer from the Gizri Police Station was acting as an accomplice to the prime accused, Armaghan.
According to police sources, Armaghan made a mobile phone call to the police officer after brutally torturing, sexually abusing, and filming his female associate, Zoma, and asked him to take her from his home and dispose of her somewhere.
When the police officer refused, Armaghan ordered an online cab and sent her to a hospital, instructing his accomplice, Shiraz, who was present at the crime scene, to follow her and ensure she didn’t report the assault to the police.
Zoma, who worked in Armaghan’s illegal call centre, revealed during the initial investigation that he had assaulted her just three days before Mustafa Amir’s murder, recording videos of her naked and abusing her mercilessly.
Karachi police have given a clean chit to Zoma and her colleague Angela, who were previously linked to Armaghan after the initial investigation.
The police sources confirmed that while both women were victims of Armaghan’s violence and worked in his illegal business, they were not involved in the killing.
Zoma has revealed that Shiraz had attempted to stop Armaghan from assaulting her, but he continued beating her and threatened with death.
It is worth mentioning here that Mustafa went missing on January 6, and his mother filed a report the next day. The case took a turn after a ransom call was received on January 25.
A raid on February 9 led to a violent standoff and the eventual arrest of Armughan, key suspect, who later retracted his claim of disposing of the body in Malir.
Further investigation revealed that Armughan, with accomplice Shiraz, murdered Mustafa after a dispute over a girl. Authorities are now seeking the girl’s testimony, with efforts underway to contact her through Interpol.
Reporters: Jawad Asif and Ahsan Abbasi