The murder of a woman lawyer at the Badiyan Road Interchange remains shrouded in mystery, as relatives of the victim seem to be avoiding the case, while on the other hand, lawyers are showing support for the slain lawyer, Pakistan Today has learnt.
Even four days after the murder, no substantial progress has been made in the case as police are still waiting for forensic reports. Anjum Akbar, a professional lawyer and mother of two who lived in Defence Housing Authority’s (DHA) B-Block, was found murdered inside her car parked at Baidian Road Interchange near Defence. She was murdered in cold blood with 14 bullets found in her body. Three bullets were shot in the shoulders, two in the ribs, three in the chest, four in the stomach and one in the left thigh and one in the head.
Anjum was quite a social woman with good professional experience and relationship. She lived as a single parent with two daughters while her husband lived abroad. Anjum’s parents and brother live in Sindh whereas she worked at lower courts in Lahore. Investigators told Pakistan Today that no one from Anjum’s family looked in a mood to pursue the case. They said that even her husband seemed disinterested and in a hurry, wanting to complete legal formalities as soon as possible.
Investigators suspected that the woman did not enjoy good relations with even her parents, as none of her parents or siblings were interested in cooperating with police or knowing the facts. Investigation officer Sub-Inspector Ghulam Murtaza said that the body was laid to rest on Monday evening after doctors completed the initial autopsy report and sent specimen to different laboratories for a detailed autopsy report. He said that the family and even her husband looked reluctant and not comfortable while talking to policemen.
He said that circumstantial evidence indicated that the killers had murdered the woman somewhere else and later fled after leaving the body in the car. He said that police had found some clues and were suspecting two men who would be soon included in the interrogation. Murtaza said that it might be a property dispute but it was too early to speculate. On the other hand, the lawyers’ community is showing support for Anjum.
A strike at the civil court was held and lawyers decided to cancel the membership of the lawyer who stood in defence of this case.