- Friend allegedly pawned 67 tons of doctor’s gold.
- Three suspects in custody, one key suspect absconded.
- Strangled in Jinnahabad, body buried near Thandiani.
Dr Warda, a medical officer at Abbottabad’s DHQ Hospital, was kidnapped outside the premises and killed barely an hour later, district police officer Haroon ur Rasheed said, while sources say the case is related to 67 tolas of gold that he had entrusted to a friend for safekeeping.
According to MS DHQ hospital, the post-mortem examination of slain doctor Dr Warda has been completed and the report will be made public soon.
Sources said she had worked as a doctor at DHQ hospital and, with her husband abroad, was living at home with her children. The DPO said she was abducted outside the DHQ Hospital on December 4 and her body was recovered four days later.
Sources said that at the time of her planned departure abroad, Dr Warda was worried about the 67 tolas of gold in her possession. A suspicious woman, identified as her friend Rida Jadoon, allegedly gained her trust and persuaded her to deposit the 67 tolas of gold as a gift. amanat (custody).
Police later found out that this gold had been pawned elsewhere and Rs 5 million had already been obtained against it.
In the murder case, police have so far arrested three suspects: prime suspect Rida Jadoon, his employee Nadeem, and Pervaiz, who is Nadeem’s relative. Another key suspect, Shamraiz, Nadeem’s uncle, remains at large.
Sources said the three related suspects belong to the same village where Dr Warda’s body was recovered. Police sources added that raids have been carried out at several places, including Peshawar, to arrest the absconding suspect.
According to investigators, the suspects first took Dr. Warda to a house under construction in Jinnahabad. DPO Rasheed told a press conference that she was strangled to death and killed barely an hour after being abducted, before her body was taken and buried near Thandiani. He said both vehicles used in the crime were seized.
The suspects had gained the trust of Dr. Warda, especially Rida, and had his gold kept with them. The day they murdered her, they forced her to issue checks that were later presented at the bank but were rejected, while they had already killed her an hour after her kidnapping.
The three arrested suspects have been presented before the Anti-Terrorism Court, which approved a three-day physical remand after investigators had requested 15 days. Police added that Rida’s husband Waheed has also been named in the case.
