A young woman was discovered partially suspended from a shower in her own home. What was once cloaked in mystery is now the focus of an intense murder investigation, with police arresting her husband and a domestic employee, and finding a trail of evidence in the Askari Apartments in Rawalpindi’s Civil Lines area.

Hina Javed, who married in 2025 and moved to her in-law’s home, was found in the bathroom under suspicious circumstances. Later her brother Fahad registered a murder case against her husband Faisal Asghar Imam, father-in-law Asghar Imam and domestic employee Zeeshan.

Faisal and Zeeshan were both produced before a duty magistrate on Sunday and sent on a three-day physical remand. Police have since begun formal questioning of the suspects as investigators try to piece together what happened before Hina’s death.

SSP Investigation Saif Ullah has formed a seven-member investigation team and City Police Officer Hassan Mushtaq Sukhera is heading it. Investigators have seized Hina and the three household members’ mobile phones and collected fingerprints and other forensic evidence from the scene.
Police say there are 19 evidence parcels including an alleged murder weapon, wire reportedly used as a noose, cloth allegedly used to restrain Hina’s hands, another cloth placed over her face and her clothing. Police and forensic experts spent some six hours at the crime scene.

Samples taken during the post-mortem have been sent for forensic analysis and the cause and manner of death are yet to be determined. DNA tests are also being ordered on the two suspects in custody.

The case took a darker turn when early allegations of intruders being in the house were contested. Police said officers found Hina’s body inside the bathroom on their arrival.

In the case, her elderly father-in-law, who is above 75 years of age, has been named a nominee and barred from leaving the city. If evidence suggests he was involved, police say he will be arrested.

The forensic investigation is ongoing, but the big question is: Was Hina Javed the victim of a murder that was cleverly hidden away and if so, who was behind it? The answer may be in the evidence now being analyzed.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)