The boyfriend of an international student whose body was found in a suitcase left in a ditch has appeared at the Old Bailey accused of her murder.
Hina Bashir, 21, was reported missing from Ilford, east London, on 14 July, having last been seen alive on 11 July.
Police officers using a sniffer dog found her decomposing body inside a large suitcase in a ditch in Upminster, east London, after following tracks on a grassy verge consistent with suitcase wheels last Sunday.
The business management student at Coventry University London, who was a Pakistani national who had come to live in the UK last November, had been in a relationship with Muhammad Arslan.
The 26-year-old, who came from the same village in Pakistan as Bashir and moved to Britain around six months ago, appeared for a preliminary hearing by video link from Thameside prison on Wednesday. Arslan spoke only to confirm his identity and was represented in court by a solicitor.
Judge Mark Dennis QC set a plea and case management hearing for 5 October with a provisional three-week trial from 5 June 2023.
The judge went on to remand the defendant into custody.
Arslan, from Ilford, was charged on Monday with Bashir’s murder.
Police began investigating the student’s disappearance after her father in Pakistan had contacted her employer at Queen Mary University in London where she worked part-time for a security company.
Bashir, who lived in Manor Park, had not turned up for work that day and her employer raised the alarm after visiting her home.
A postmortem examination has yet to make a preliminary finding on the cause of her death.
Meanwhile, Scotland Yard issued an appeal for more information.
DCI Dave Whellams said: “My thoughts are with Hina’s family who have suffered a terrible loss.
“We will provide them with whatever support we can.
“We are continuing our work to develop a full understanding of what happened to Hina, not just in recent days but in the weeks prior to this terrible incident.
“I would urge anyone who may have known her to come forward. Any information that you hold could be important to the investigation.”
Anyone with information can call police on 101 quoting the reference 2674/14JUL or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
