Ride-hailing driver’s alleged killer remanded for three days

A court on Thursday granted police three-day physical remand of a suspect held for allegedly killing a driver of an online ride-hailing service during a carjacking attempt.

The suspect, Abdul Samad, was arrested by police following investigation into the murder case of Shahzaib, a resident of Hyderabad who was found shot dead in the bushes in the Scheme 33 area of Karachi on November 10.

The investigation officer (IO) of the case produced the suspect before a judicial magistrate of District Malir, requesting his physical remand in police custody for 14 days.The magistrate granted the IO three days to complete interrogation with Samad and ordered him to reproduce the suspect in the court along with a progress report on the next hearing.

According to police, the suspect killed Shahzaib, who worked as a driver for a ride-haling app, in a "carjacking adventure” inspired by an online video game. Samad had booked the ride with the intention of snatching the car. As they reached near Punjabi Sodagaran Society, he pointed a pistol at the driver, demanding him to stop the car. Shahzaib stopped the vehicle after which Samad shot him in the neck, which proved fatal. However, the suspect’s plan to steal the car foiled as the GPS tracker installed in the car deactivated the engine.