How police traced Group Captain Asim murder suspect in 9 hours?

KARACHI: The suspect accused of killing Group Captain Asim was arrested within nine hours of the shooting following an extensive police operation supported by Safe City surveillance cameras and CCTV footage.

The incident took place within the jurisdiction of Margalla Police Station on Ninth Avenue in Islamabad’s City Zone. According to investigators, the suspect, identified as Saad Abbasi, fled the scene after shooting Group Captain Asim with a 9mm pistol.

Acting on the instructions of the Inspector General of Police, SP City Ayaz Hussain reached the crime scene immediately, where forensic evidence was collected and an investigation was launched.

Police traced the suspect’s movements through CCTV footage, with the first lead taking investigators to Ghouri Town. According to the investigation, Saad parked his motorcycle outside a friend’s house, covered it with a cloth and left the area on an online ride-hailing motorcycle.

Investigators said he travelled to a nearby market, left his bag at a friend’s pharmacy and purchased a new blue T-shirt to replace the green shirt he had been wearing at the time of the incident.

He then used the same online ride service to travel towards Faizabad. Using surveillance technology, police quickly identified and traced the ride-hailing driver, who told investigators he had dropped the suspect near the Skyways bus terminal at the Faizabad Interchange.

Police subsequently dispatched separate teams to recover the motorcycle, search the pharmacy and pursue the suspect at Faizabad.

Inquiries at the bus terminal revealed that Saad had purchased a ticket for Lahore, prompting Islamabad Police to alert their counterparts in Lahore and deploy teams to intercept him.

According to the investigation, at around 6:30 pm, the suspect telephoned the friend with whom he had left his motorcycle, saying he was returning to collect it. Approximately five minutes later, he also called the owner of the pharmacy to say he was coming to retrieve his belongings.

Police said the bag left at the pharmacy contained the suspect’s clothes and the alleged murder weapon.

Investigators further stated that Saad initially sent a child to collect the bag on his behalf. As the child walked away with the bag, officers monitoring the area moved in and arrested the suspect.