A man abducted from Islamabad has been found dead in Mardan, with police claiming to have arrested the main suspect a day after the recovery of the body.
According to police, the victim, a 30-year-old resident of Sector F-6/1, was abducted on Sunday night from outside his residence by four to five persons. A case was registered at Kohsar Police Station under Section 365 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) on the complaint of his father.
Police described the killing as “an act of revenge by his girlfriend”.
The victim was later transported via the motorway to Swabi, where he was allegedly assaulted and killed before his body was dumped on a roadside in Mardan.
Investigators said that the case surfaced after a photo of the body was shared on social media by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Police for identification purposes. Islamabad Police then coordinated with Mardan Police after confirming the abduction.
SP (Superintendent of Police) City Dr Ayaz Hussain told a private media outlet that the main suspect, Saifullah- a constable in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police and the son of a DSP, was arrested from Saidu Sharif in Swat, while a 19-year-old woman was detained from Islamabad within 24 hours.
Police said that the woman is the central suspect and allegedly planned the killing after the victim refused to marry her. Investigators said that she provided complete details of the victim to the abductors and had visited his house a week earlier under a false identity to gather information from his family.
Officials added that she was travelling in a separate ride-hailing vehicle at the time of the abduction, which was moving alongside the kidnappers’ car.
Police further stated that the vehicle used in the abduction had a fake number plate, but was traced through its M-tag. The owner, a resident of Mingora, told police the car had been rented out to individuals from Swat.
During the wider investigation, it also emerged that the victim and two other men had earlier cases registered against them in Islamabad, reportedly on the complaint of the same woman.
Police said that the woman later confessed that she had been in a relationship with the victim and the two other men, and alleged that all three had ended contact months earlier, after which she decided to take revenge.
SP City Dr Ayaz Hussain said that multiple police teams were formed and deployed across Islamabad, Swat, Swabi and Mardan to trace the people involved in the case.
The victim’s post-mortem was conducted at PIMS Hospital Islamabad, where initial findings indicated death due to severe head injury.
Police said raids are continuing to arrest other individuals allegedly involved in facilitating the crime.
