The primary suspect in the death of Sarah Inam, Shah Nawaz Amir, allegedly tried to tamper with the evidence, according to police reports made public on Sunday.
Six mobile phones were allegedly discovered at the scene of the crime, five of which belonged to Shah Nawaz and one of which was registered in the victim’s name, the police said.
According to the police, the accused smashed his own and his wife’s phones with dumbbells, the murder weapon, to erase the data.
Senior journalist Ayaz Amir has been detained by police after they successfully obtained arrest warrants for him and his ex-wife in the murder case. His wife has not yet been taken into custody, though.
In a petition submitted to an Islamabad sessions court, Sameen, the mother of Prime accused Shah Nawaz and the spouse of renowned political analyst Ayaz Amir claimed that she was unrelated to the slaying. She has provided details about the gruesome incident, claiming that just one night prior to the crime, her son had sent her a Whatsapp message asking her to arrange his wife’s rukhsati by speaking to her father.
She added that Shah Nawaz had called her the following morning at 9:12 a.m. to tell her about the incident.
Shahnawaz was taken into custody by the police shortly after the petitioner asked her to sit in her room, according to the plea. “The petitioner asked Shahnawaz to sit in her room and Ayaz… had called the police,” the plea reads.
According to the petition, Sameena hurried to Shah Nawaz’s room at that point, but by the time she arrived, her daughter-in-law had already passed away.
On Friday morning, as word of Sarah’s murder spread on social media and news channels, Islamabad was shaken.
Shahnawaz is said to have murdered her and then dumped her body in a bathtub.