Rabia Ahsan’s husband brought back to Rawalpindi after polygraph test

RAWALPINDI: Police have brought Ahsan Tahir, the husband and suspect in the murder of television anchorperson Rabia Ahsan, who was found shot dead in her bedroom on Adiala Road in Rawalpindi on November 8, back to Rawalpindi after taking him to Lahore for DNA testing and initiating the process for a polygraph examination.

Rabia Ahsan was found shot dead at her home on Adiala Road in Rawalpindi on November 8. Rabia Ahsan was associated with private news channel 92 News.

Police had taken her husband Ahsan, who was taken into custody following the incident, told investigators during preliminary questioning that a gun went off accidentally. The circumstances surrounding her death are still under investigation.

The suspect is currently on a four-day physical remand, with Thursday marking the third day of his remand, police said.

Investigators had earlier taken Ahsan to the Punjab Forensic Science Laboratory (PFSA) in Lahore after he allegedly gave contradictory statements during interrogation.

Police said Ahsan’s DNA test had been completed, while a request for his polygraph test had been submitted to the forensic laboratory.

Investigators also deposited seven parcels containing evidence linked to the killing with the laboratory for forensic examination.

Four mobile phones used by the deceased and the suspect have also been submitted for forensic analysis, police sources said.

The examination will include the extraction and transcription of data and communications from the devices.

In a further development, police have decided to investigate Rabia Ahsan’s business dealings and professional contacts as part of efforts to examine all possible aspects of the case.

A mobile phone allegedly used for business purposes has separately been sent for forensic analysis, according to police sources.

The investigation is now focused on reconstructing the sequence of events surrounding the killing, examining digital evidence and determining whether the suspect’s statements are consistent with the available forensic and other evidence, according to sources.

Police have not yet publicly disclosed the results of the DNA examination or the forensic analysis of the mobile phones and other evidence.

Police initially detained Ahsan following the killing and placed him under interrogation.

Family seeks to withdraw murder case

Earlier, the family of Rabia Ahsan had sought to withdraw the murder case against Ahsan Tahir, her sister said, describing the death as “110 per cent accidental”.

Rabia’s sister, Alveena, told Hum News Digital that the family was “in the process of withdrawing the case”.

Earlier, police registered a murder case against the husband, a day after Rabia was found shot dead inside her home in Rawalpindi’s Gulshanabad area.

“I don’t even feel that we have filed any case,” she said. “We don’t have any intention of pursuing a case either.”

“Our family is in huge trauma right now. Let us come out of the trauma, and then we will give you the full account,” Alveena said.

She also criticised the media’s coverage of the killing. “The media has not treated us well. The media is playing very wrong games,” she said. “Out of sympathy, they get us to say one thing and then present it in a different way.”

The husband, Ahsan Tahir, has told investigators that he pointed the locally made pistol at Rabia as a joke and loaded the chamber, and that a bullet was discharged without the trigger being pressed, hitting her in the neck, according to police sources. A domestic servant was also in the room at the time, the sources said. They added that there had been no quarrel between the couple

What the FIR says

The case (FIR No 1231/26) was registered at Saddar Bairooni police station under Section 302 of the PPC and Section 13-2(a) of the Punjab Arms (Amendment) Ordinance 2015, which deals with possessing an unlicensed weapon.

The complainant is Rabia’s brother, Khurram Ahmad. According to the FIR, Khurram, a Capital Development Authority (CDA) employee who lives in Islamabad, was on his way to visit Rabia when their sister Alveena phoned him.

Alveena lives with their mother near Rabia’s house in Gulshanabad, off Adiala Road. She told him that at about 2:30pm, she and their mother were sitting in the lawn while Rabia and her husband were in their bedroom when they heard a gunshot. They ran inside and found Rabia lying in a pool of blood on the floor beside the bed, with a pistol in Ahsan’s hand, the FIR states.

“Ahsan has killed my sister by shooting her,” Khurram alleged in the complaint, asking for legal action.

The police section of the FIR records two blood-stained wounds: one at the front, below the throat, and the other on the right side of the back. A Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) crime scene unit collected evidence, and the body was sent to Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) for a post-mortem. Police recovered a 30-bore pistol from Ahsan Tahir, who could not produce a licence or permit for it, the FIR says.