- Suspect hit by bullets fired by his own accomplices, say police.
- Team remained unhurt due to bulletproof jackets: spokesperson.
- Says search operations underway to arrest suspect’s accomplices.
ISLAMABAD: A key suspect in the alleged suicide case of Laiba Ijaz was killed after armed men opened fire on a police party in the limits of Ramna police station, a police spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Laiba, a gold medallist who had completed her BS degree at the International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI), died by suicide earlier this month after the suspect allegedly defrauded her on the pretext of arranging admission to a US university and provided her with fake documents.
In a statement, the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) police spokesperson said that a police team was taking the suspect, Muhammad Noman, for the recovery of evidence based on his identification when the incident occurred.
Four suspects riding two motorcycles opened fire on the police team in an attempt to free Noman from custody, the spokesperson said, adding that the suspect was hit by bullets fired by his own accomplices.
The injured suspect was shifted to a hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries, according to the police spokesperson.
The police team remained unhurt due to bulletproof jackets and other precautionary measures, the spokesperson said, adding that search operations are underway to arrest the suspect’s other accomplices.
The key suspect was arrested from Islamabad’s H-13 sector and was handed over to police on a physical remand by a judicial magistrate for further investigation last week.
According to police sources, Noman first came into contact with Laiba in March 2023, when she applied for an internship at an insurance company where he worked.
She could not join the office because she was giving tuition, but he later hired Laiba, her sister and her mother to advertise a tuck shop.
The shop was managed by a woman named Aiza, whose brother lived in the United States. When Laiba sought Noman’s help in obtaining a US visa, he allegedly assured her that he could arrange it through Aiza’s brother.
Preliminary investigations revealed that Noman allegedly created another online account posing as Aiza and used ChatGPT to impersonate her and her brother during conversations with Laiba, police sources said.
Noman allegedly sent Laiba documents that appeared genuine. She became suspicious after he repeatedly changed her visa interview date, first telling her it would be September 1, then September 17 and finally September 26. She subsequently checked the documents and discovered they were fake, the sources said.
According to the police sources, Laiba had given Noman Rs2.1 million obtained by her father from the sale of a plot, along with jewellery belonging to her stepmother.
Under pressure to return the jewellery, she allegedly asked Noman to give it back first, saying the remaining money could be dealt with later. Noman subsequently began ignoring her and cut off contact.
Police suspect that Noman may have defrauded other women. Investigators said he had deleted data from his mobile phone before his arrest and plan to conduct a forensic examination to recover the data and identify potential additional victims.
