Both accused have been in police custody since the first week of March. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD: The couple accused of carrying out a string of rape and murders, of young women and at least one child, was indicted by a sessions court on Tuesday.



District and Sessions Judge Kauser Abbas Zaidi indicted Qamar* and Maha*, for their involvement in the rape and murder of 11-year old Sehr*.



Both accused have been in police custody since the first week of March. During the course of hearing, the Islamabad Police produced both the accused before the court and requested that they be charge-sheeted. Police official informed the court that their physical remand had been completed and they had confessed to this crime and others as well.



The police said that apart from the case of Sehr, the main accused had also confessed to his involvement in four other cases of rape and attempted rape, which included the rape and murder of the daughter of a senior police officer. Police officials maintained that the main accused had also confessed to the rape of two other girls from Bhara Kahu — a 15-year-old a Christian girl and a 19-year-old. Co-accused Maha was a tutor to both of them.



After the hearing, the court issued notices to the prosecution witness and adjourned the hearing till March 28, from when hearings will be held on a daily basis.



Qamar, an MBA holder who had a middle-management job at a private steel mill, with the abetment of his university-student girlfriend Maha, had kidnapped, raped and murdered Sehr, a resident of Bhara Kahu, and burnt her body before disposing it of in a drain. On March 1, the court ordered the release of Maha’s father and brother after finding that they were not involved in the crime and had no knowledge of the accused’s actions. They had been in police custody for seven days.



On February 18, the Supreme Court (SC) had taken suo motu notice of this case and directed the Inspector General of the Islamabad Police (IGP) to supervise the investigation and submit a comprehensive report. On March 5, the SC disposed of the suo motu and directed the trial court to complete proceedings in one month.



Published in The Express Tribune, March 27th, 2013.