Islamabad police arrest Careem captain's 'killer'

ISLAMABAD – Islamabad police have rounded up the passenger who allegedly killed a Careem, a ride-hailing service, captain while snatching his car near G-13 in Islamabad last week.

SP-Investigation Sheikh Zubair Ahmad said the accused, identified as 25-year-old Attaullah, was one of the passengers who had booked a ride on Thursday from F-11 Markaz at around 2:35 and asked the driver to go to G-13. When the captain arrived near the destination, Attaullah asked him to get off the vehicle.

According to the police officer, the suspected killer fired three bullets at the captain named Junaid Mustafa after he shown resistance over the robbery attempt, leaving him dead on the spot.

The police were informed by a security guard about the incident after he heard gunshots. Police found Mustafa lying in the middle of the road with massive bleeding.

Though the ride-hailing company, earlier, claimed that no any passenger was with Mustafa at the time of the killing, the police insisted that robbery and murder happened during the ride.

A police officer said that the car was taken to Charsadda in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after the incident, adding that the captain was killed by the passenger who booked the ride.

Police arrested the suspect from an area of Islamabad by tracing his mobile number, used for booking the ride. The care is yet to be recovered.

After nabbing the suspect, police recovered another stolen Honda Civic car from him. The car was snatched on Feb 12 at the gunpoint in Sector F-10/4.

“He would snatch cars in the capital, take them to K-P where he would sell them on. He worked alone,” the SP said. “During interrogation when we asked him what would he have done if the car owner in the February 12 case had also resisted, he said he would have killed him too,” an investigator told The Express Tribune.

A climax in the story came at a time when police produced the suspect before TV cameras during a press conference. The accused himself unveiled his face and started scream that he was innocent and police also arrested his family members.

Later he was taken out of the room by the police. Officer told media that the victim of Feb 12 case has also identified him.

On Saturday, Careem said that it has shared important data with the police which would help expedite the investigation process.

“We have shared important data and insights, which will have led to major developments in the investigation process and will help in bringing culprits to justice.

We will continue our follow up and use all legal resources to ensure that the case comes to its logical conclusion,” the statement said.