RAWALPINDI: A 29-year-old man has confessed to killing his former wife, an American national of Pakistani origin, and burying her body in Lakki Marwat, disclosed Rawalpindi City Police Officer (CPO) Sajid Kiani on Saturday.

While addressing a press conference, the police chief said suspect Rizwan Habib Bangash had murdered his ex-wife Wajiha Farooq Swati, 47, after kidnapping her and shifted the corpse to Lakki Marwat where he buried it in a room of his servant’s house in the Peezo area.

SSP (Investigations) Syed Ghazan­far Ali Shah and SP (Potohar Division) Rana Abdul Wahab were also present at the presser.

Body disinterred in Lakki Marwat

Sharing motive for the murder, the CPO said it emerged that she had been demanding back her property worth millions of rupees, which she had transferred in the name of Rizwan before their divorce. The police chief told the media that the police had recovered the body from the house in Lakki Marwat on the basis of information provided by the killer himself.

The police chief said the body was being shifted to Rawalpindi. “Since the man killed the woman in Rawalpindi, the body will be brought to District Headquarters Hospital for a post-mortem examination after which it will be handed over to her heirs for burial,” CPO Kiani said.

The police also arrested the father and servant of the suspect on charges of aiding and abetting the murder. The CPO said police investigators visited several cities to collect evidence and grill suspects during the course of investigation. “Police used latest technology and human intelligence to solve the high-profile murder case,” he said.

In all, four special investigation teams had been formed under the supervision of SSP (Investigations) Shah to solve the case, he said.

Mr Kiani said the US embassy was also in contact with him. He urged the media to refrain from relying on ‘unverified’ information about the case as investigation was still under way. The police would soon arrest other suspects in the case, he claimed.

“We will share all details with the media once the investigations are completed,” CPO Kiani said.

Concrete floor

The body of the Pakistani American was exhumed from the Wargher locality of Darra Peezu town in Lakki Marwat district on Saturday.

Shaheed Haibat Ali Khan police SHO Amir Khan said the body had been buried in a room of the house, owned by Sultan, son of Saeed. He said the house owner was the servant of the suspected killer. He said the police had to dig the concrete floor to disinter the body. “The body was later handed over to the Rawalpindi police,” he claimed.

Ghulam Mursaleen in Lakki Marwat also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2021