ISLAMABAD - In a new twist to the murder case of Custom Inspector Chaudhry Ijaz, a witness in super model Ayyan Ali money laundry case, the police changed the investigation officer, probing the case on charges of flawed investigation.
According to sources, Sub Inspector Fateh Khan was removed from the investigation and the investigation has been handed over to Sub Inspector Arshad.
Fateh lodged the FIR under article 324/34, on 2/6/15, which is an attempt of murder; now Sub Inspector Arshad has been tasked to carry out the investigation, the sources said.
FIR is the first information report, based upon which sections are imposed, which later, in case of expiry of wounded are turned into section 302, and added into FIR, said Islamabad Bar Council member, Advocate Haroon Rashid. He said section 324/34 is attempted murder and 34 suggests that the attackers were more than one.
He said, generally, as soon as someone injured passes away, the section 302 is added into FIR.
Just after the death of the customs official, the Rawalpindi police announced the case an attempt of robbery but lodged the FIR under attempted murder, which resulted in confusion.
"Yes, it is confusing. Police on one side is saying that it was an attempted robbery but on the day of incident lodging an FIR under the section of attempted murder, it is questionable, said advocate Asim Shafi, when asked for a comment.
The murder of Custom Inspector Ijaz has been shrouded in mystery and many unusual events have taken place since then. Custom Inspector Chuadhry Ijaz, 42, was wounded when two armed men entered his garage and tried to enter his house. He resisted and was fatally shot by the intruders. He was a key witness in the ongoing money laundering case, and custodian of the money confiscated from Supermodel Ayyan Ali.
He was in charge of Customs warehouse, situated near Benazir Bhutto International Airport. According to officials, Ijaz kept the amount recovered from the super model Ayyan Ali, in his custody. "All the events happened on June 3 and onwards are unusual. Does anyone die from a single shot in his leg?" said Nauman, eldest son of deceased Inspector. "Do doctors keep the patients in such secrecy that no one was able to see a glimpse of my father from 8pm till 3am in the morning." "The whole series of events took place at the hospital were unusual. The hospital staff told us to arrange blood in bulk and never allowed us to see our brother," said Chaudhry Sajjad Afzal, brother of the deceased and complainant.
At around 3.30pm, the doctors told us that the operation has been successful and now the patient would be shifted to the CCU. "Ijaz Bhai was unconscious and was wearing an oxygen mask," the brother said, adding, after around two hours the family was directed to leave the CCU and minutes later announced his death.
Nuaman said after the death of his father no official, even his close friends at work, visited the family, which was again unusual.
"My father worked in Customs for almost 24 years, but despite that long association nobody from his office visited us after the death," Nauman said. The killing took place in a congested neighbourhood, known as Qasimabad in Dhok Khabba area of Rawalpindi.
Situated in the interior of the city among a sprawling maze of narrow streets, the deceased inspector's house was comparatively newly built, a typical middle class two-storey accommodation.
"My little brother left the door open when he left the house and suddenly two men entered inside and started loading their pistols," Nauman said, recalling the shooting. My sisters shouted when they saw strangers and my father quickly confronted the intruders. Such incidents of forcibly entering into a house were unusual, neighbours said. Street robberies are almost unheard of although car theft is common in the area.
"Most of the residents have been living here since the time of their forefathers," Waseem, a neighbour said. "Here only those can come who come by intention and planning."
"They were riding a 125 Bike," Nauman said, referring to the alleged killers. "If someone says it was a mere robbery attempt, none of us can buy that," he said in a definite tone.
Interestingly, the police officials, despite lodging FIR under the section of attempted murder, rejected the possibilities of any target killing. "Media has wrongly associated the murder with the Ayan Ali case; it is a simple robbery case," a police official said.
He said that it is wrong to say that police have shut down the investigations into the case. "The investigations are underway."
"Murder cases are investigated for years. I am sure some day someone will be caught who will confess the murder," the official said. The case was registered at a sub Station of Police station Waris Khan, near Murree Road, Rawalpindi.
"We are using latest techniques to investigate the murder of Ch Ijaz, we have prepared a sketch of the alleged killers," a police official at the police station said. "We tried to get mobile data of the area but failed," an official said. "We will crack the case."
The new investigation officer has no clue about the Rawalpindi especially thickly populated neighbourhood, where incident took place. No official on record or off the record was willing to comment about the case.
Officials also avoid to comment about the haste with which police declared the killing as a robbery attempt just after hours of the incident.
The 21-year-old super model, once the face of companies ranging from Calvin Klein clothing to Magnum ice cream, has remained under arrest in one of the hard prisons of the country for the last three months.
Despite having the services of high profile lawyers, her attempts of getting a bail have remained unsuccessful so far.