Rabia Ahsan murder case: Husband taken to Lahore for polygraph test

LAHORE: Police brought Ahsan Tahir, the husband of slain television anchorperson Rabia Ahsan, to the Punjab Forensic Science Laboratory (PFSA) in Lahore on Wednesday for a polygraph test as investigators seek to establish the circumstances surrounding her killing in Rawalpindi.

According to police sources, the test is being conducted after the suspect allegedly gave contradictory statements during interrogation. Investigators are hoping the examination will help clarify the sequence of events leading to the shooting and assess the consistency of his account.

The forensic experts will question Ahsan about the events of the day Rabia was killed, while monitoring his physiological responses, including changes in his heart rate and psychological condition, police sources said.

Before the examination, forensic experts are assessing the suspect’s physical and mental condition to determine his fitness for the test. Police said the findings would help investigators establish further facts and determine the direction of the investigation.

Four-day physical remand granted

The development comes a day after a Rawalpindi court granted police four days of physical remand of Ahsan, who was produced before a senior civil judge after completing an earlier one-day remand.

The investigating officer had sought 10 days of physical remand, but the court approved four days and directed police to produce the suspect again on November 13.

The court also sought a comprehensive investigation report and the post-mortem examination report at the next hearing.

Police took Ahsan back into custody following the hearing. No lawyer appeared on his behalf during the proceedings.

What happened on the day of the shooting?

Rabia, a television anchor and programme host associated with 92 News, was found shot dead in her bedroom at her home in Rawalpindi’s Gulshanabad area, off Adiala Road, on Sunday.

Her husband was taken into custody following the incident and subsequently booked in a murder case registered at Saddar Bairooni police station.

According to police sources, Ahsan told investigators that he had pointed a locally made pistol at Rabia as a joke and loaded its chamber, after which a bullet was discharged and struck her in the neck.

The sources said a domestic servant was also present in the room at the time of the incident and that the couple had not quarrelled before the shooting.

However, police registered a murder case against Ahsan following the incident, with investigators continuing to examine the circumstances in which the weapon was discharged.

What the FIR says

The case, registered as FIR No 1231/26, was lodged under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and Section 13-2(a) of the Punjab Arms (Amendment) Ordinance 2015, which deals with possession of an unlicensed weapon.

Rabia’s brother, Khurram Ahmad, is the complainant in the case.

According to the FIR, Khurram, a Capital Development Authority (CDA) employee residing in Islamabad, was on his way to visit his sister when he received a telephone call from their sister Alveena.

Alveena, who lives with their mother near Rabia’s house in Gulshanabad, told him that she and their mother were sitting in the lawn at around 2:30pm while Rabia and her husband were in their bedroom.

They heard a gunshot and rushed inside, where they found Rabia lying in a pool of blood on the floor beside the bed, with a pistol in Ahsan’s hand, the FIR stated.

“Ahsan has killed my sister by shooting her,” Khurram alleged in the complaint, requesting police to take legal action.

The FIR records two blood-stained wounds on Rabia’s body, one at the front below the throat and another on the right side of her back.

A Punjab Forensic Science Agency crime scene unit collected evidence from the scene, while the body was shifted to Benazir Bhutto Hospital for a post-mortem examination.

Police also recovered a 30-bore pistol from Ahsan, who allegedly failed to produce a licence or permit for the weapon, according to the FIR.

Family’s position and legal proceedings

The investigation is also unfolding amid the family’s stated reluctance to pursue the murder case.

Rabia’s sister Alveena told Hum News Digital on Monday that the family was in the process of withdrawing the case, describing the shooting as “110 per cent accidental“.

However, police have maintained that the family cannot simply withdraw a registered murder case and that any request for forgiveness or compromise would have to be dealt with by the court in accordance with the law.

Under the law, murder under Section 302 of the PPC can be compounded in certain circumstances, subject to the court’s permission and the relevant legal requirements governing forgiveness by the victim’s legal heirs.

The separate charge concerning possession of an unlicensed weapon is also being pursued by police as a state case, meaning the family’s decision regarding the murder charge would not automatically dispose of that offence.

Police have said they will submit the challan before the court and continue proceedings relating to the alleged illegal possession of the weapon.

The polygraph examination is among the investigative steps being taken as police continue to establish the circumstances of Rabia’s death. Its findings will be considered alongside other forensic evidence, witness accounts and material collected during the investigation.