The student death investigation into Laiba Aijaz's death is examining an alleged scheme in which consultant Muhammad Nauman used artificial intelligence and two invented identities to collect money for a foreign admission and student visa that officials say never existed. He was produced before a judicial magistrate in Islamabad on Monday with his face covered, and the court granted police five days' physical remand. Officials put the alleged fraud at Rs9.3 million.
Laiba, 24, a graduate of the International Islamic University Islamabad, was found dead near G-10 Sunday Bazaar on 9 October. Her father complained the next day, and Ramna police registered FIR No. 820/26 under Sections 322 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code. Whether Section 322 fits this death is still for the investigation and the court. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Pakistan's federal crime agency, registered FIR No. 977/26 under Sections 419, 420 and 109 of the Penal Code, read with Sections 18 and 22 of the Emigration Ordinance, 1979, over the alleged Rs9.3 million fake identity fraud.
How the two identities were built
Nauman was working at an insurance office on Murree Road when Laiba came for a job interview in March 2023. She did not take the job, but he kept her number and other details. In 2025, after he moved to another insurance company, he offered her work again. She said she gave private tuition, could not keep office hours, and asked for online work instead.
Officials say he opened social-media shops in the names of Laiba, her sister and their mother. A woman named Aiza handled that work. Each shop needed a security deposit of about $1,000, which the family could not pay. Aiza grew suspicious, blocked the family and withdrew, the shops closed, and officials stressed she had no role in the alleged fraud that followed.
Laiba then asked Nauman for help with a student visa and admission abroad, and officials say the alleged fraud was devised at that stage, in February 2026. They allege he took Aiza's photographs and screenshots, opened WhatsApp in her name on a SIM registered to himself, and used her picture as the display photo. His cousin, Fatima Sarwar, also nominated in the FIA case, allegedly sent one voice note so the account would sound genuine. After that, officials say, Nauman wrote every further message, and the phone history they examined had no voice calls.
Officials working on the student death investigation allege he copied Laiba's messages into AI chatbots, software that drafts text, and pasted the English replies back. They say the same tools were used to build fake certificates from a sample document, with her details added. He also allegedly made a Gmail account for a brother who does not exist, presented as living in the United States, and wrote to her as that man saying Nauman had referred her. Posing as both people, he allegedly kept collecting money for an admission and a visa that were not real.
His bank accounts and mobile wallets were found empty, one account holding only Rs23. Officials allege he spent money from the family on personal pursuits over six to seven months. How the funds were used remains under investigation.
What the magistrate ordered
Ramna police sought 10 days' physical remand to establish Nauman's role, verify evidence and take him outside the district. Judicial Magistrate Zunaira Zafar granted five days and directed that he be produced again on 17 October.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- March 2023: Laiba interviewed at an insurance office on Murree Road, did not take the job, and Nauman kept her contact details.
- 2025: He offered her work again from another insurance company, and she asked for online work.
- February 2026: Officials say the alleged visa and admission fraud, using two fake identities, was devised.
- 9 October: Laiba was found dead near G-10 Sunday Bazaar.
- 10 October: Her father complained, and Ramna police registered FIR No. 820/26.
- Monday: The magistrate gave five days' remand, not the 10 days police sought. Nauman is due back on 17 October.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Laiba Aijaz, 24 saal ki, 9 October ko Islamabad ke G-10 Sunday Bazaar ke qareeb foat payi gayin. Officials ka ilzaam hai ke ghar walon se Rs9.3 million, yani 93 lakh rupay, bahar admission aur student visa ke naam par liye gaye, jo thay hi nahi. Yeh bhi ilzaam hai ke Nauman ne AI chatbot se angrezi messages aur farzi kaghaz banaye aur do farzi pehchanein istemal keen. Court ne unhen paanch din ki police remand di hai, aur agli peshi 17 October ko hai.
