By Uzma Zafar
ISLAMABAD: The District and Sessioms Court of Islamabad on Monday sent the main suspect in the murder case of TikToker Sana Yousaf to jail after the end of his police remand. The court made the decision as the prosecution did not request further custody.
Judicial Magistrate Muhammad Hafeez ordered that the accused, Umar Hayat, be sent to jail on judicial remand in the ongoing investigation of the murder of TikToker Sana Yousaf.
The federal police produced Umar Hayat in court following the completion of his three-day physical remand. During the hearing, the prosecution did not seek an extension of the remand, after which the court directed that the accused be shifted to jail.
Umar Hayat’s lawyers raised concerns over not being allowed to arrange a meeting between their client and his parents. They told the court that the case had gained widespread media attention, and the accused was being denied access to his family.
In response, the judge remarked that since the suspect had now been sent on judicial remand, such meetings could take place in jail under standard procedures.
Earlier, An Islamabad court on Friday extended the physical remand of the main suspect in the murder case of social media influencer Sana Yousaf for another three days.
Islamabad Police had arrested Umar Hayat, the main suspect in the 17-year-old’s murder, on June 3, nearly a day after she was gunned down in her house in the federal capital. Police had claimed the man murdered Sana because she repeatedly refused his advances. Hayat was presented before the court of Judicial Magistrate Mohammad Hafeez upon the completion of his four-day physical remand. His 14-day judicial remand at the Adiala Jail for his identification parade had already been completed, with the victim’s mother and aunt identifying him.
Deputy district public prosecutors (DDPPs) Adnan Ali and Raja Naveed Hussain, along with Investigation Officer (IO) Mazhar Bashir Khan, appeared on behalf of the state before Magistrate Hafeez.
Hussain informed the judge that the vehicle used by the suspect had been recovered, while his phone was yet to be taken into custody. “The suspect is quite clever and understands the gravity of the crime, which is why he is not letting us recover his mobile phone,” he said.
IO Bashir then requested the court to extend the detained man’s remand by seven days for further “investigation and recovery”, according to the written order.
