The buried body, presumed to be that of slain BBA student Mustafa Amir, has been exhumed from Keamari graveyard, marking a significant development in the ongoing investigation.
Samples were taken from the mortal remains during today’s exhumation which will now be sent for further forensic analysis.
The 23-year-old student went missing on January 6, 2025, with the police handing over the charred body – unidentified at that time – found in a car near the Hub checkpost to the Edhi Foundation on January 12.
The mortal remains – presumed to be of the victim – were then buried by the rescue service at its Keamari graveyard on January 16.
The whole case came to light after the prime suspect opened fire at a team of the Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC) – a specialised unit of the Karachi police responsible for tackling cases related to murder and extortion – during a raid at his residence in DHA earlier this month.
A three-member medical board – formed on court orders – today oversaw the exhumation of the victim’s body under the supervision of a judicial magistrate.
The medical board is led by Police Surgeon Dr Summaya Syed and also comprises Additional Police Surgeon Dr Srichand and MLO Dr Kamran.
The victim’s body has been handed over to the Edhi Foundation and will remain in their morgue till the DNA report comes to the fore.
According to the judicial magistrate’s letter addressed to the rescue organisation, if the DNA report comes back positive, the mortal remains will be handed over to the deceased’s family, otherwise, the body will be buried in the cemetery designated for abandoned, unclaimed bodies.
Meanwhile, Armaghan who is in four-day physical remand, is set to be produced before the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) No 3 today (Saturday) for remand in the relevant four cases.
As per the notification issued by the Sindh Home Department, the contract of the judge of ATC No 2 has expired and ATC No 3 has been appointed as a link judge of the former.
The scope of investigations into the brutal murder of Mustafa has been widened, confirmed probe officials.
“Police’s Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC) has contacted Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to ascertain what work was done at the call centre [established within the bungalow],” the officials added.
The FIA has also been tasked with probing funds related to the accused in the murder case.
In addition to this, the police’s Special Investigation Unit (SIU) was investigating Armaghan’s involvement in the illegal drug trade.
Meanwhile, another team of AVCC has been dispatched to Balochistan, where it would collect details about the victim’s vehicle, the authorities added.
They further said that efforts were being made to complete the investigation from various angles at the earliest.
Harrowing details have emerged so far during the investigation in the said case with investigation officials saying that Armaghan has revealed torture and burning Mustafa alive.
During interrogation, Armaghan said that on January 6 he called the victim and Shiraz Bukhari – the other suspect alias Shavez – to his bungalow, where he launched a vicious assault on Mustafa, using an iron rod to beat him for two hours.
Investigators confirmed that the rod was later recovered from the guard room of Armaghan’s house in Defence’s Khayaban-e-Momin. They said that Mustafa sustained severe injuries, with heavy bleeding from the head and knees.
The prime suspect admitted that he was intoxicated at the time of the assault. He revealed that Shiraz, his accomplice, attempted to stop him when Mustafa started bleeding excessively. However, after the brutal beating, both suspects loaded Mustafa into his own vehicle and drove towards Hub.
Upon reaching Hub, Armaghan opened the car’s boot and discovered that Mustafa was still alive.
He then doused him and the car in petrol and mockingly challenged him to escape, knowing that his severe knee injuries had rendered him immobile.
Despite Mustafa’s feeble attempts to move, he was unable to flee. The suspect confessed that he then set Mustafa on fire.
Armaghan also disclosed that immediately after igniting the flames, Shiraz urged him to flee the scene. The two suspects then made their way back to Karachi by hitchhiking in different vehicles.
Following Armaghan’s confession, Karachi police raided his bungalow and retrieved the iron rod used in the assault.
As the probe is underway, the police and investigation authorities have said that Armaghan’s monthly income couldn’t be ascertained yet.
It may be noted that the police had found a call centre established within the bungalow, numerous laptops, security cameras, motion detectors, walkthrough gates and illegal weapons, during the raid. Meanwhile, reports of Armaghan possessing more than 40 security guards had also surfaced.
The investigations revealed that the prime suspect had been running an outbound call centre to defraud people in the United States by offering them domestic services and stealing their money through the fraudulent business.
However, the total amount of money, whether in tens of millions or more, he had been making through the call centre, couldn’t be ascertained as yet.
The investigations further revealed that Armaghan had already been booked in at least six cases, including offences of violence and the Anti-Terrorism Act. After the confession and recovery of illegal weapons, new cases will be registered against the key suspect.
