A valet parking scam at Chenab Club, Faisalabad ends in murder as Rehan Ashraf tracks his vehicle through GPS, only to be killed by the thieves he confronted
WEBDESK – MEDIABITES
Faisalabad, October 18 — A night out at one of Faisalabad’s most exclusive clubs turned fatal for a prominent businessman when a sophisticated valet parking scam led to his murder on the streets of the city.
Rehan Ashraf, owner of GMSA and Glue Company, arrived at Chenab Club near Bagh-e-Jinnah on Saturday night, around 9 pm, for dinner with his brother and cousins. As is standard practice at the club, he handed his car keys to an attendant from a private parking company. Minutes later, alerts from the vehicle’s GPS tracker indicated the car had been switched on and then off—a clear sign it was being moved off the premises.
Ashraf and his companions rushed back to the parking area to find both the car and the attendant gone.
The family immediately contacted the tracker company and police helpline 15. With live location updates arriving on WhatsApp, Ashraf and his companions set off in another vehicle to intercept the stolen car. They traced it to Jharanwala Road, near Bijli Ghar, where traffic had brought the vehicle to a standstill in front of a UBL branch.
As Ashraf ran toward his car, shouting, “Where are you running with my vehicle?”, two unidentified men stepped out. One of them opened fire. The bullet struck Ashraf on the right side of his neck. He collapsed, bleeding heavily. His companions rushed him to hospital, but he died on the way.
The FIR, registered at Thana Sadar Faisalabad by the victim’s brother Muhammad Hassan Ashraf, confirms the sequence of events. City Police Officer Faisalabad Tanveer Hussain has taken notice and sought a report from SP Iqbal Town, while special teams have been constituted to arrest the suspects. Teams from the Punjab Forensic Science Agency have collected evidence from the crime scene.
SP Iqbal Town Saeed Ahmed told BBC Urdu that the investigation is in its final stages, adding that “all key points of the case are nearly clear” and an early resolution is expected.
The incident has raised sharp questions about the screening practices of private valet parking companies operating at high-end venues across Pakistan. Legal expert Shahid Islam Kamboh, Advocate, pointed out that investigators must examine whether a systemic failure in the parking company’s hiring and verification process contributed to the tragedy. “Are employees’ backgrounds checked? Are police character certificates obtained?” he asked.
Parking industry representative Nauman Yousuf acknowledged the gravity of the incident, saying it was likely to push companies to tighten their recruitment and verification processes to prevent similar events in the future.
Byline: MediaBites.com.pk
