Islamabad sees rise in kidnappings, killings as property dealer case exposes chilling details

-- Arrest of KP constable and young woman reveals alleged revenge plot, but questions remain over broader network

Raja Kashif Ashfaq

ISLAMABAD: Kidnappings and killings of business figures appear to be on the rise in the federal capital with the latest case involving the abduction and murder of a property dealer exposing disturbing details of a planned crime allegedly driven by personal motives.

Islamabad police on Tuesday claimed to have solved the case of 30-year-old property dealer Farrukh Afzal who was abducted from outside his residence and later killed.

Authorities said two suspects, including a constable serving in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police and a 19-year-old woman, had been arrested while efforts were underway to apprehend other accomplices.

According to police, the woman has been sent on judicial remand while the constable was arrested from Swat and brought to Islamabad on transit remand. He is currently in police custody.

The case was initially registered under Section 365 (kidnapping for ransom) at Kohsar police station after the victim’s father reported the incident late at night on May 4. He told police that unidentified individuals forcibly bundled his son into a black Corolla outside their residence in Sector F-6/1.

Investigators said multiple teams were formed to trace the vehicle used in the abduction. CCTV footage revealed that the car exited the motorway at the Swabi interchange, although the vehicle bore fake number plates.

It was fitted with an M-Tag enabling authorities to identify its original registration and owner.

Further investigation into the victim’s phone records led police to a mobile number frequently in contact with him. The number was traced to the female suspect. Officials said her location data placed her in Islamabad, Swabi, and Mardan around the time of the incident.

During questioning, the woman initially claimed she had travelled to Swabi to check on her ailing mother. However, upon further interrogation, she allegedly confessed to orchestrating the abduction and murder with the help of an accomplice.

Police sources said the suspect told investigators that she had prior relations with the victim and two of his friends and had even filed a harassment complaint against them at Shalimar Police Station. She further alleged that one of the men had promised to marry her.

According to investigators, the woman, along with her accomplice—a constable—planned the crime as an act of revenge. She allegedly brought the constable and two other individuals to her F-11 apartment shortly before the abduction and shared the victim’s location with them.

The suspects are said to have kidnapped Farrukh Afzal at gunpoint and transported him to Swabi where he was tortured and killed. His body was later dumped in a deserted area near Mardan and recovered on the suspect’s identification.

A post mortem examination indicated that the victim died from severe head injuries. Police said that after the murder, the constable fled to Swat in the same vehicle while the woman returned to Islamabad via a taxi service.

Authorities also revealed that the arrested constable is the only son of a serving DSP in the KP police.

However, the woman’s family has denied her involvement, maintaining that she had travelled to Swabi solely to visit her unwell mother.

The case comes barely a month after another high-profile killing in Islamabad, where businessman Amir Awan was shot dead by armed men at a farmhouse in Margalla Town. While police initially suspected a robbery attempt, the assailants fled without taking valuables, raising suspicions of a targeted killing.

Though police claimed swift arrests in that case as well, the recurrence of such incidents has raised concerns about public safety and the effectiveness of law enforcement in the capital.