Police have registered a murder case under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) against Ahsan, the husband of news anchor Rabia Ahsan, who died after being shot at her house in Rawalpindi on Sunday.
The case was registered at Saddar Bairooni Police Station on the complaint of Rabia’s brother Khurram, who told police that another sister had called him and informed him that Ahsan had shot Rabia.
Khurram said that he reached the house and found his sister lying in a pool of blood. She had died by the time he arrived.
During questioning, the husband told police that the gun went off accidentally and that no argument or heated exchange had taken place between the couple before the incident.
Initial accounts of the incident also emerged from a domestic worker, who told investigators that family members were putting away summer clothes and taking out winter clothes from the cupboards when they found a .30-bore pistol.
According to the worker’s preliminary statement, Ahsan picked up the pistol and waved it in his hand before a shot was fired accidentally.
Police stated that no statement indicating an argument or dispute between the couple at the time of the incident had emerged so far.
Rabia’s family also told investigators that the couple, who got married 14 years ago, had no domestic disputes and were living a happy married life.
The couple’s daughters, aged 11 and 13, along with Rabia’s mother and sister, were present at the house when the gun went off. Police recorded their initial statements, in which they said that they had not witnessed any disagreement between the couple.
The bullet struck Rabia in the lower part of the front of her neck, according to an initial post-mortem report. She fell to the ground and died from the injury.
Police also found that the pistol recovered from the house was unlicensed. Investigators sent the weapon for forensic analysis and took a bullet casing found at the crime scene into custody.
The post-mortem examination was conducted at the District Headquarters Hospital in Rawalpindi, while investigators also examined the emergency call made to police and Rescue 1122 following the incident.
Police will also send Ahsan’s mobile phone for forensic examination and proceed with the investigation after receiving the laboratory reports. Investigators said that they will examine all possible motives behind the killing.
The probe is being conducted under the supervision of Rawalpindi City Police Officer (CPO) Hassan Mushtaq Sukhera, with Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Tariq Mehboob, Superintendent of Police (SP) Potohar Chaudhry Asar Ali, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Saddar Bairooni and Station House Officer (SHO) Saddar Bairooni part of the investigation team.
Meanwhile, First Lady Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari expressed deep sadness over Rabia’s killing and strongly condemned the violence.
In a statement issued by the Presidency, she called for a thorough, impartial and transparent investigation to establish the facts and ensure that those responsible were held accountable.
