Bail granted to female suspect in TikTokers murder case

A sessions court on Thursday granted bail to a suspect allegedly involved in the murder of four TikTokers who were targeted in a drive-by shooting in the Garden area in February.

The victims, Muskan Sheikh, Amir Khan, Rehan Shah and Saddam Hussain, were killed after unidentified armed men opened fire on their car near the Anklesaria Hospital in the wee hours on February 1.

The additional district and sessions judge South approved the bail-after-arrest application moved by the interned suspect, Sawera, and ordered her to submit a surety of Rs200,000 to secure her release. She was taken into custody after clues based on the call data record (CDR) and location pointed towards her involvement in the case, South DIG Javed Akbar Riaz had told The News after her arrest.

“She had been in contact with the main suspect, Rehman Ali, in proximity of the incident,” he had added. Ali is still absconding and police claim that he may have gone into hiding up-country to avoid arrest.

Sawera had filed an application in the court, through her counsel, contending that she was innocent and falsely implicated in the case. Her attorney argued that the prosecution did not have sufficient evidence to keep her in custody.

The judge, after hearing arguments from the prosecution as well, decided in favour of the plaintiff and ordered her release. The court ordered the suspect to maintain her presence during the hearings or else her bail would be revoked.

So far, the motive behind the killings has not been ascertained for lack of evidence. A source privy to the matter said that the issue which led to these killings could be between Muskan and Ali.

Hussain’s brother Idris Afridi, who is the complainant in the case, also pointed fingers at Ali and other suspects, whose identities have been withheld. He said he suspected their involvement in the murders on the basis of evidence police had shared with him. Afridi has demanded that a joint investigation team be made to probe the case because at the local level, police might not have technical resources needed to solve the case.