Karachi court remands woman in custody in alleged staged suicide case

KARACHI: A judicial magistrate on Thursday sent a woman to police custody for six days in a case relating to the alleged killing of her husband, which investigators say was made to look like a suicide.

According to the first information report, the case was lodged on the complaint of the deceased man’s father, who nominated both his son’s wife, Dua Rustam, and her former husband in the murder case. The complainant stated that his son, Hamza, was married to Dua Rustam, who he identified as a lady police constable.

The father told police that he had received a phone call informing him about his son. He said that when family members reached the house, they found Hamza hanging from the ceiling. He alleged that Hamza’s hands were tied, a piece of cloth had been placed in his mouth, and marks of injuries were visible on his body.

In the FIR, the complainant accused his daughter-in-law and her former husband of involvement in his son’s killing and alleged that they had tried to pass off the death as suicide.

Police seek custody for investigation

During Thursday’s hearing, the investigating officer presented the woman before the judicial magistrate (West) and requested her physical remand for further questioning. The officer informed the court that the precise cause of Hamza’s death had not yet been established.

The investigating officer also told the court that the woman’s alleged accomplice was absconding and had yet to be arrested. He asked for police custody of the suspect to help investigators arrest the other accused and complete the inquiry.

After hearing the police request, the court granted six-day physical remand of the woman and directed the investigating officer to produce her again on the next hearing along with a progress report on the case.

The case has been registered at Mominabad police station under Sections 302 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code.