Trial progresses as Shahnawaz & mother indicted in Sarah case.
Court sentences Sarah Inam’s murderer to death. In the ongoing legal proceedings related to the tragic death of Sarah, Shahnawaz, alongside his mother Sameena Shah, faced indictment on December 5. His father was discharged earlier from the case, and Sameena Shah, now a co-accused, obtained post-arrest bail in November of the previous year.
The case took a significant turn in January when Dr. Bushra Ashraf, conducting Sarah’s post-mortem examination, revealed the victim’s multiple head fractures. In July, the cross-examination of Sarah’s father and uncle was completed, with her father, Inamur Rahim, staunchly rejecting any compromise.
In October, Investigation Officer Habibur Rehman testified that Shahnawaz had confessed to the crime, marking a crucial point in the trial. The judge subsequently wrapped up statements from the IO and prosecution witnesses.
As the trial progresses, the counsel for Sarah’s father, in the latest hearing, advocated for Shahnawaz’s death sentence, citing a compelling body of evidence supporting the prime accused’s guilt.
The case
In September, the police became a complainant in the case, with a first information report (FIR) registered for the murder on the complaint of Shahzad Town Station House Officer (SHO) Nawazish Ali Khan at the Chak Shahzad police station, initially under Section 302 (punishment for murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
Later, police added Section 109 (punishment for abetment, if the act abetted, is committed in consequence and where no express provision is made for its punishment) of the PPC to the FIR and initiated proceedings against Shahnawaz’s parents, Sameena and senior journalist Ayaz Amir.
The development came after Sarah’s uncle filed an application with the police, alleging that Shahnawaz had murdered Sarah in connivance with his parents.
According to the FIR, the SHO was present on Park Road near Chatha Bakhtawar when he got the information about the murder.
The FIR stated that when the police team reached the farmhouse where the murder had taken place, they were received by the mother of the main suspect who told them that her son had “murdered his wife during a scuffle”.
As per the FIR, she informed the police that her son was still present in the house. The police managed to enter the house and detained the suspect, it claimed, adding that the suspect’s hands were “soaked in blood” at the time of the arrest.
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During the inquiry, the man identified himself as Shahnawaz Amir and told the police that he had murdered his wife with a dumbbell and hid her body in a bathtub in the bathroom, it claimed.
Police recovered the dead body on his information, the FIR said, adding that a wound was found on the head of the deceased. The police team also recovered the murder weapon from the house which was “hidden under a bed”, it added.
Subsequently, the body was moved to the Poly Clinic for autopsy and the murder weapon and Shahnawaz’s shirt were sent for a forensic audit.
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