Remand of suspects in Hina Javed murder case extended

• Police present Asghar, Zeeshan before court.
• Rawalpindi court adjourns hearing till Sep 2.
• Police seek seven-day extension in suspects’ remand.
  

A district and sessions court in Rawalpindi on Saturday extended the physical remand of two suspects, Faisal Asghar, husband of slain Hina Javed, and domestic worker Zeeshan, by another four days for further investigation into her murder.

Hina, a digital media executive, was found dead at her home in Rawalpindi’s Lalkurti area, with her body tied to a shower in the bathroom on August 20.

At the outset of today’s hearing, police presented the suspects before the court after the expiry of their three-day physical remand.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Rehman Shaukat Bhatti appeared before the court on behalf of the police and sought a seven-day physical remand of the suspects, saying they needed to recover documents related to Asghar’s divorce from his first wife and his marriage to the slain woman.

After hearing the arguments, the court granted the police a three-day physical remand of the suspects and ordered them to produce them before the court on September 2.

During the previous hearing on August 26, Advocate Shah Khawar, counsel for the deceased’s family, had told the media that police investigation was proceeding in the right direction.

“The police have collected evidence and conducted forensic examinations. In my view, the investigation is moving in the right direction,” he had said.

The development comes two days after the domestic worker confessed to strangling and torturing Hina Javed.

The arrested worker had told investigators he had been called during a marital dispute between Hina and her husband Faisal, according to sources.

He had said Hina tried to flee during the altercation, upon which Faisal and he grabbed her. When she resisted, he pressed her throat, he had confessed. Zeeshan also admitted to frequently stealing from the household.

According to police sources, Hina's father-in-law had called police saying thieves had broken into the house. When police arrived, they found Hina's body tied to a shower in the bathroom.

Post-mortem findings

The post-mortem report of Hina has revealed injuries to several parts of the victim's body.

According to the report, Hina's neck bone was fractured, while injury marks were also found on her ribs and hip bone.

The post-mortem report showed that the victim's pericardium and heart were filled with blood. The post-mortem was conducted by Dr Maria Khalid 12 hours after her death, according to the report.

DNA samples were collected from the victim's body and sent to a laboratory, while other samples were also dispatched for forensic examination to determine the cause of death.

The report said that the cause of death could not initially be determined clearly.