Prime suspect in Multan orphan’s murder killed in alleged encounter after escaping police custody

• Police say Tauqeer Nazir was killed during an alleged encounter with the CCD near Bahawalpur’s Northern Bypass.
• The suspect had escaped custody while serving a four-day physical remand in Waseem Abbas’s murder case.
• Authorities have yet to explain how he escaped or reached Bahawalpur.

The main suspect in the killing of orphaned teenager Waseem Abbas in Multan was killed in an alleged encounter near Bahawalpur after escaping police custody, officials said early Wednesday.

Tauqeer Nazir had been held at Multan’s DHA police station on a four-day physical remand for questioning over allegations that he chased the teenager in a car and deliberately ran him over.

Crime Control Department (CCD) District Officer Irfan Akbar said a police team tried to stop two men travelling on a motorcycle near Bahawalpur’s Northern Bypass. He said the riders opened fire while attempting to flee, prompting an exchange of gunfire.

According to Akbar, Tauqeer was killed by bullets fired by his accomplice, who escaped. Police did not identify the fleeing man.

Authorities have yet to disclose when or how Tauqeer escaped from custody, or how he travelled from Multan to Bahawalpur while on remand.

A judicial magistrate in Multan had granted police four days to question him in connection with Waseem’s murder. Tauqeer was also reportedly assaulted by lawyers during his court appearance a day before the alleged encounter.

Police said another suspect in the murder case, identified as Amjad, remained at large.

Waseem, who belonged to Muzaffargarh district, had been living at an NGO-run orphanage. Investigators said he was sent to work with Tauqeer to learn electrical work about a week before his death.

The teenager reportedly wanted to leave because of alleged mistreatment. Police said he fled his workplace and was pursued by Tauqeer in a car before being run over in Multan’s Royal Orchard housing society.

CCTV footage showed Waseem running away before the vehicle struck him. Police said their initial investigation found no evidence that the teenager had been involved in theft.

Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari had earlier said Tauqeer and his associate Amjad allegedly chased Waseem for about one kilometre before running him over.

A murder case was registered against the suspects under Sections 302 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code. Several orphanage staff members were also detained for questioning as investigators examined the circumstances surrounding the teenager’s placement at the workplace.

Waseem was laid to rest in his ancestral graveyard in Daultpur village, Muzaffargarh district.