RAWALPINDI: A duty magistrate on Wednesday extended the physical remand of Hina Javed’s husband and domestic servant for another three days for further investigation into her murder case.

Javed, a 45-year-old digital media executive, was found dead with her hands tied behind her back at an apartment in Rawalpindi last Thursday. Police said the body bore signs of torture and formed a special investigation team, detaining her husband and domestic servant while also questioning her father-in-law as part of the investigation.

The suspects were produced before the court of Duty Magistrate Rana Shah Nawaz after the completion of a three-day remand handed to them earlier.

The police requested seven more days of the suspects’ custody. However, the duty magistrate instead extended the physical remand by another three days for further investigation.

Shah Khawar, the advocate counsel for the family of the deceased, told the media after court proceedings that the investigation was proceeding in the right direction, as the police had collected evidence and conducted a forensic examination.

The victim’s “hyoid bone was broken and torture marks” were found on her body by the doctor who conducted the postmortem examination on her body after obtaining swab, saliva and blood samples for analysis by the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA). A complete postmortem report, describing the cause of her death and other details, will be submitted after the PFSA analysis report is received.

On Tuesday, the special investigating team formed to investigate the murder moved the suspects to Lahore for a DNA and polygraph test amid tight security. A polygraph test, also known as a lie detector test, is used by the police as a tool to help investigate crimes or clear suspects.

After the test, the suspects were taken back to Rawalpindi and produced before the duty magistrate’s court on Wednesday.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations Tariq Mehboob also recorded the statements of the two suspects. Both were said to disclose that the victim’s body was dragged into the bathroom and her neck tied with wire to stage a suicide, which was exposed when the police team arrived at the scene and collected evidence.

Regional Police Officer Babar Sarfraz Alpa revealed to the media on Monday that the tragic incident took place on August 20.

The police had initially received information that thieves had entered the house. When the police arrived, the victim’s body was partially hanging from a shower rod in the bathroom, he said.

A first information report (FIR) was registered on Aug 20 at the Civil Lines police station under Sections 302 (premeditated murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of Hina’s brother Fahad Javed.

He alleged that his sister had been murdered by her husband, his father and their domestic servant.