Dr Warda Case: Police arrest key suspect, victim's mobile phone, ATM recovered

ABBOTTABAD: Police have arrested another key suspect in the abduction and murder case of Dr. Warda Mushtaq, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

According to police, the arrested suspect has been identified as Adil. Law enforcement officials recovered Dr. Warda’s mobile phone and ATM card from his possession.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Ayaz Khan said the accused has confessed to digging a pit and burying the victim’s body. He added that on Adil’s identification, a large cache of weapons was recovered from the house of another accused, Shamraiz.

The recovered weapons included rocket launcher ammunition, multiple rifles, and other arms, the SP said.

Police produced the suspect before an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC), which granted a seven-day physical remand for further investigation.

Earlier, police termed Dr. Warda’s killing a premeditated murder, with greed for gold cited as the motive. According to investigators, the deceased had handed over gold to her friend and prime accused, Rida, two years ago. Rida allegedly refused to return it despite repeated demands.

Police said Rida later planned the murder with her accomplices. It was further revealed that she allegedly struck a deal with the killers for Rs10 million.

On the day of the incident, Rida reportedly took Dr. Warda to her under-construction house, where the suspects Shamraiz, Nadeem, and Aurangzeb were present. Police allege that Nadeem carried out the murder.

Following the incident, doctors and hospital staff staged a protest at Benazir Shaheed DHQ Hospital, demanding justice for the victim.

Meanwhile, Dr. Warda’s father has expressed dissatisfaction with the local police, alleging a lack of cooperation and claiming that the main suspect was initially not arrested.

Dr. Warda, a mother of two, was living with her father, Mushtaq, along with her children. Her husband, Raheel Ali Raza, is employed in South Korea.