Booni, Aug 29, 2025: The Upper Chitral police on Friday stated that the main suspect in the suicide case of a 23-year-old woman belonging to Nishku village has been arrested.
Addressing a press conference, District Police Officer Hameedullah, flanked by SP Investigation Ajmal Khan, SDPO Mulkhow/Torkhow Molai Shah and SHO Mulkhow Sadar Wali said the suspect had been taken into custody and would be produced in court for obtaining his physical remand tomorrow (Saturday). The DPO said that the father of the young woman had reported to the local police the disappearance of his daughter on Aug 15, 2025. This was registered in the Roznamcha (diary) of the police station concerned, he said.
On Aug 21, the father in another complaint to the police alleged that his daughter might have been abducted. The deceased’s father also recorded a statement with a magistrate under Section 164 of PPC, naming the man as the suspect identified as Junaid, son of Muhammad Hashim. The police then registered a case of abduction under section 365-B of Pakistan Penal Code and began investigation proceedings.
In the meanwhile, he added, a note believed to be written in her handwriting was found in the house of the woman. In that note, it is stated that “if I am abducted or killed the holder of this mobile phone number will be responsible.” The note has been sent for forensic, said the DPO.
On August 24, 2025, Shehla’s dead body was recovered from the riverside in Ayun Lower Chitral. A postmortem was conducted on the body at the District Headquarters Lower Chitral which confirmed that she had died from asphyxia due to drowning. Her organ samples were sent for further detailed analysis.
The DPO said Call Detail Record (CDR) proved multiple contacts between the deceased and the suspect after which the police on August 27 added section 302 (murder) to the FIR and arrested the suspect. He said a special investigation team had been formed to probe the case and progress on the case would be shared with the public.
It may be noted here that earlier a senior official of Upper Chitral police had told Dawn that the suspect was likely to be charged under Section 322 of PPC for qatl-bis-sabab (murder without intention). He said the suspect was in a relationship with the young woman before her marriage and had tried to blackmail her thereafter and even shared her pictures with her husband, resulting in her death by suicide.