Abbottabad woman doctor killed within hour of abduction, reveals DPO

• Friend allegedly pawned 67 tolas of doctor’s gold.
• Three suspects in custody, one key suspect absconding.
• Strangled in Jinnahabad, body buried near Thandiani.

Dr Warda, a medical officer at Abbottabad’s DHQ Hospital, was abducted outside the facility and killed barely an hour later, District Police Officer Haroon ur Rasheed has said, while sources say the case is tied to 67 tolas of gold she had entrusted to a friend for safekeeping.

According to the MS DHQ Hospital, the post-mortem examination of murdered medical officer Dr Warda has been completed, and the report will be made public soon. 

The sources said she had been serving as a medical officer at the DHQ Hospital and, with her husband abroad, was living at home with her children. The DPO said she was abducted outside the DHQ Hospital on December 4, and her body was recovered four days later.

The sources said that around the time of her planned departure abroad, Dr Warda was worried about 67 tolas of gold in her possession. A female suspect, identified as her friend Rida Jadoon, allegedly gained her confidence and persuaded her to deposit the 67 tolas of gold with her as an amanat (safekeeping). 

Police later found that this gold had been pawned elsewhere and that Rs5 million had already been obtained against it.

In the murder case, police have so far arrested three suspects: prime suspect Rida Jadoon, her employee, Nadeem, and Pervaiz, who is a relative of Nadeem. Another key suspect, Shamraiz, who is Nadeem’s uncle, remains at large. 

The sources said that the three related suspects belong to the same village from which Dr Warda’s body was recovered. Police sources added that raids have been conducted at multiple locations, including Peshawar, to arrest the absconding suspect.

According to investigators, the suspects first took Dr Warda to an under-construction house in Jinnahabad. DPO Rasheed told a press conference that she was strangled to death and that she was killed barely an hour after being abducted, before her body was taken and buried near Thandiani. He said both vehicles used in the crime have been seized.

The suspects had gained Dr Warda’s trust, particularly Rida, and had her gold stored with them. On the day she was murdered, they made her write cheques which were later presented at the bank but bounced, while she had already been killed within an hour of her abduction. 

The three arrested suspects have now been produced before the Anti-Terrorism Court, which approved a three-day physical remand after investigators had requested 15 days. Police added that Rida’s husband, Waheed, has also been named in the case.