Javed Iqbal Mughal Pakistani serial killer Country: Pakistan

1. Biography of Javed Iqbal Mughal
2. Early Life and Business
3. Confessions and Investigations
4. Arrest and Trial

Biography of Javed Iqbal Mughal

Javed Iqbal Mughal was a Pakistani serial killer who was convicted of sexually assaulting and murdering 100 children. However, doubts arose regarding the fairness of his conviction when it was discovered that 26 of the presumed victims were found alive. Despite the controversy surrounding the case due to the lack of thorough investigation, it was not reopened.

Early Life and Business

Javed Iqbal was the sixth child and fourth son of a Pakistani businessman. In 1978, he started his own business while continuing his studies in college. His father later bought him two villas in Shadbagh, where Javed managed his business related to trade and manufacturing of iron reinforcement bars. It later became known that these villas were where he held his victims.

Confessions and Investigations

In December 1999, Iqbal sent a letter to the police and a local newspaper confessing to the murders of 100 children aged between 6 and 16. In his letters, Javed described how he strangled and dismembered his victims, mostly runaway children and impoverished individuals from Lahore. He disposed of the bodies with hydrochloric acid and dumped the remains in a nearby river. A thorough search of his villa uncovered bloodstains on walls and floors, an iron chain used to strangle his victims, photographs of boys, and plastic bags labeled with handwritten notes. Two containers of acid were also found, which were later discovered to contain partially dissolved human remains. A note nearby indicated that Javed deliberately left behind evidence.

Despite his intention to drown himself in the Ravi River, the police did not believe his words and extensively searched the water with nets. Javed was not found, and a manhunt was launched to capture him. Four of his teenage accomplices, who lived in his apartment, were arrested almost immediately. However, one of them died while attempting to escape from the police through a window a few days later.

Arrest and Trial

It took a month for Javed to be apprehended, and it was only because he voluntarily came to the building of the newspaper "Daily Jang." He claimed that he chose to surrender there because he did not trust the police, believing that they had no intention of capturing him alive. In court, Javed exhibited strange behavior. Despite his earlier confessions and the discovery of a diary in his apartment with detailed descriptions of the killings and handwriting matching the labels on the crime tools, he vehemently denied any involvement in the murders. According to him, the entire story was a grand deception created solely to draw attention to the issues faced by runaway children from poor families. He claimed that his initial confessions were made under duress from the police.

Over 100 witnesses testified against Javed and his juvenile accomplices during the trial, leading to his conviction. He was sentenced to be hanged. The judge, however, described the planned execution with more specificity, stating that Javed would be strangled in front of the parents of his victims and then dismembered into 100 pieces, which would be dissolved in acid. Nevertheless, the authorities were unable to carry out the intended punishment. On October 8, 2001, Javed and one of his accomplices, Sajid Ahmad, were found dead in their cell. It was later revealed that they had taken their own lives using pre-obtained poison.

Javed Iqbal is currently considered the most ruthless and prolific serial killer in the history of independent Pakistan.