Three people, including a child, were stabbed to death and two others injured by a man visiting his in-laws to seek reconciliation with his wife. The deceased included the woman’s former husband.
Pir Mehal police said that Hasina Bibi, a resident Rajana Road area in Sadiqabad, had married Faisal Iqbal four years ago. They had two children.
A year ago, Hasina Bibi sought and was granted a divorce. She then married Munawwar Ahmad. However, they said, due to frequent quarrels with Ahmad, the relationship between then deteriorated. They said she left the house and started living with her parents.
They said, she had also started meeting Iqbal, her former husband. Some neighbours told police that they Iqbal would often spend nights at Hasina Bibi’s parents’ house.
On Thursday, they said, Ahmad and his brother Anwar Ali visited Hasina Bibi at her parents’ house. When they saw Iqbal there, they confronted Hasina Bibi about him. This led to an argument between Iqbal and Ahmad, following which he stabbed Iqbal with a knife. Hasina Bibi’s father Rab Nawaz tried to save Iqbal and was also stabbed. Both Iqbal and Nawaz died on the spot.
Police said Ahmad also stabbed Hasina Bibi’s three-year-old-daughter (from her first marriage).
Her brother Irshad Nawaz and sister Shamim Bibi, who tried to shield the child, were also injured. Hasina Bibi ran out of the house and shouted for help.
By the time neighbours came out of their houses, Ahmad and Ali had fled.
Police were called and the bodies were sent to tehsil headquarters hospital for post-mortem examination. The injured were taken to Civil Hospital, where doctors treating them said that they would likely survive.
Station House Officer Abdus Saboor Khan told The Express Tribune that a case had been registered on the complaint of Iqbal’s brother Manzoor Hussain.
The SHO said that the assailants were missing. A police team was looking for them, he said,
Published in The Express Tribune, September 27th, 2013.