Barkhan killings: Court grants police 10-day physical remand of Abdul Rehman Khetran

A district and sessions court in Quetta on Thursday granted police's crime branch a 10-day physical remand of Balochistan Minister for Construction and Communications Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran, who was arrested a day earlier in connection with his alleged involvement in the gruesome murder of three people whose bullet-riddled bodies were found in a well in the Barkhan district on Monday night.

Khetran was brought to the court amid tight security. He made a victory sign before being produced before the court. The suspect was produced before the court of Judicial Magistrate Sameena Nasreen.

The gruesome incident took place days after a video of a woman with the Holy Quran in her hands was released on social media. In the video, the woman claimed that she and her children were detained by Khetran. She pleaded with the people to get her and her children freed.

Initially, Khan Muhammad Marri, a resident of Kohlu, claimed that the deceased are his wife and two sons. He then went on the allege: “Five slaves are still in the possession of Sardar Abdul Rehman.”

The triple murder saga took a dramatic twist, when a police surgeon, after the post-mortem examination of the bodies, revealed that one of the deceased was a 17 to 18-year-old female. She said that the deceased was raped and tortured before being shot dead.

The medico-legal officer said that the autopsy finds that the girl was shot thrice in the head and her face and neck were mutilated with acid to hide her identity. She said that the girl may not be Giran Naz but her daughter.

Moreover, the other two were also tortured before being killed, she added.

Meanwhile, the suspect denied allegations of involvement in the gruesome murder of three people. Talking to Geo News, he claimed that he is a “peaceful and law-abiding person”.

“Accusations of owning a private prison and the murder of three people is a conspiracy to damage my political reputation,” he added. The minister accused his own son was behind the conspiracy.

Woman found alive

On Wednesday night, Levies personnel recovered Marri’s wife Giran Naz — who had been presumed dead — and their five children including a girl, allegedly abducted by Khetran. The operation was conducted in light of Khan Muhammad's allegations.

During the search operations, Naz along with her children Farzana, Abdul Majeed, Abdul Ghaffar, Imran, and Abdul Sattar were recovered, the Levies officials said.

The force took action in the areas of Kohlu, Dakki, Barkhan and Dera Bugti as Khan Muhammad Marri's family was held hostage at different locations.

The Levies Quick Response Force conducted operations in east Balochistan and South Punjab to recover the hostages, it said. The force also foiled an attempt to transfer the two kidnapped boys to Punjab.

Specifying the locations, the Levies officials said that Naz, Farzana and Imran were recovered from Kohlu, Chamalang and Dakki in the border area of Bala Dhaka, respectively. Meanwhile, Majeed was recovered from Dakki, and Ghaffar and Sattar from Kohlu and Dera Bugti, respectively, they added.