Investigation officer says he did not secure any eyewitness statements from neighbors or guards following murder of Noor Mukadam
A sessions court hearing the Noor Mukadam murder case on Monday was informed that the National Forensic Science Agency had not found the fingerprints of primary accused Zahir Jaffer on the pistol recovered from the crime scene.
During the cross-examination of investigation officer Abdul Sattar by Zahir’s counsel, Sikandar Zulqarnain, it was revealed that plaintiff Shaukat Ali Mukadam—Noor’s father—was already present at the scene along with his relatives. He said that no statements of any neighbors or guards were recorded, adding that CCTV footage of the incident had not been made part of the investigation.
According to Sattar, there were no signs of any cuts on the clothes of the deceased, and accused Zahir’s pants did not have any bloodstains. It was also revealed that the investigation officer had only searched the first floor, the lounge and an adjoining room of Zahir’s home, and had not examined any other portion of the house.
To a question, the officer said he had not personally known Noor Mukadam. He also admitted that he had not gotten the photo collected from the DVR [digital video recorder] vetted through a photogrammetry test. He said he had been unaware of the security system that was installed at the house. “I didn’t get the torn-out clothes of the deceased, her handbag, or any other belongings which I had seen in the CCTV footage,” he said.
Zahir Jaffer was included in the investigation because he was present at the crime scene upon the police’s arrival, the investigation officer added.
Last year, during initial investigations, police had informed the court that the accused had admitted to murdering Noor, adding that fingerprints and a DNA report verified this confession.
During Monday’s proceedings, Zahir sat on the ground in the courtroom and kept his head tilted to the side. Last week, doctors at the Adiala Jail had declared him mentally and physically fit to stand trial.
At the conclusion of the cross-examination, the court adjourned the hearing till Wednesday.
Zahir, the primary accused in the murder of 27-year-old Noor Mukadam, was formally charged for the crime by an Islamabad court in October 2021. Following the registration of the FIR in July, Zahir’s parents and household staff had also been arrested for allegedly “hiding evidence and being complicit in the crime.”