RAWALPINDI: A district and sessions court on Saturday extended by four days the physical remand of two suspects in the killing of a digital media executive whose body was found bound to a shower in her home.
Faisal Asghar, the husband of slain Hina Javed, and domestic worker Zeeshan will remain in police custody until Sept. 2 for further investigation, the court ordered.
Police presented the suspects before the court after their initial three-day remand expired. Deputy Public Prosecutor Rehman Shaukat Bhatti requested a seven-day extension, telling the court that investigators needed to recover documents related to Asghar’s divorce from his first wife and his marriage to Javed.
Javed, a digital media executive, was found dead Aug. 20 at her home in Rawalpindi’s Lalkurti area, with her body tied to a shower in the bathroom, according to police.
Two days before Saturday’s hearing, the domestic worker confessed to strangling and torturing Javed, according to police sources. Zeeshan told investigators he had been called to the home during a marital dispute between Javed and Asghar. When Javed tried to flee and resisted, Zeeshan pressed her throat, he confessed, according to reports. He also admitted to frequently stealing from the household.
Police sources said Javed’s father-in-law had called authorities to report a burglary. Officers arrived to find Javed’s body in the bathroom.
A post-mortem report by Dr. Maria Khalid, conducted 12 hours after death, revealed fractures to Javed’s neck bone and injuries to her ribs and hip bone. The report also found blood in the victim’s pericardium and heart. DNA samples were collected and sent to a laboratory, while other samples were dispatched for forensic examination.
The report said the cause of death could not initially be determined clearly.
During an Aug. 26 hearing, Advocate Shah Khawar, counsel for the deceased’s family, told reporters that police investigation was “moving in the right direction,” citing collected evidence and forensic examinations.
