ABBOTTABAD: Abbottabad Police have claimed a breakthrough in the murder case of Dr Warda Mushtaq, recovering the victim’s personal belongings along with arms from the residence of Shamraiz, the prime accused who was allegedly killed in a police encounter.
According to police officials, the recovery was made on the pointation of an under-trial suspect, Adil, son of Chan Zaib, a resident of Banota.Acting on his disclosure, police conducted a search of Shamraiz’s house, where a concealed compartment built into a room window was discovered. From this hidden space, investigators recovered key items linked to the murder.
The recovered articles include Dr Warda Mushtaq’s mobile phone, national identity card, ATM card, vehicle registration card, a photograph, and tools allegedly used in the crime, including a pickaxe and a shovel. Police said that Shamraiz, who was the main suspect in the case, was earlier killed in an alleged police encounter.
Following disclosures by the arrested suspect, weapons, ammunition and explosive material were also recovered from the same hidden compartment.
Police claimed that the seized arsenal included two RPG-7 rounds, two hand grenades, one 12-bore single-barrel repeater, one 12-bore shotgun, one .308 rifle, one 7mm rifle, one 8mm rifle, approximately 100 rounds of ammunition, nine magazines of various calibres, two daggers (one with a sheath and one without), and two binoculars, including one large-sized.
A case has been registered under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), Section 15-A of the Arms Act, and Section 5 of the Explosives Act.It is worth mentioning here that Dr Warda Mushtaq was a medical officer at the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
On December 4, she went missing after leaving the hospital with a friend, Rida, reportedly to get back 67 tolas of gold jewellery that Warda had entrusted to her for safekeeping in 2023. Her body was later found in a remote hilly area of (Lari Binota forest), near Thandiani four days after her disappearance.
Post-mortem findings showed Dr Warda was strangled to death and her neck bone was fractured, with signs of torture on her body.Police later arrested several accused, including Rida (the friend who accompanied her), Waheed Billa, a businessman and husband of Rida, Nadeem and Parvez in connection with the abduction and murder.
A Joint Investigation Team was formed by the KP government to probe the case, including financial and forensic evidence.Police seized gold jewellery and cheques worth millions of rupees from suspects linked to the financial dispute.
Other accused were remanded to police custody by an Anti-Terrorism Court amidst widespread protests by doctors and the public outraged by the brutal killing.One accused, Shamraiz, who had been on the run, was killed in an alleged police encounter near Thandiani.
