A young man allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest after his family refused to allow him to marry a woman of his choice, the police said.
According to the police, 24-year-old Muhammad Irfan wanted to marry a divorced older woman who already had three children. When his family refused to consent, he committed suicide at his work place in Tench Bhatta Bazaar late on Friday. The area falls in the jurisdiction of the RA Bazaar Police Station.
The police said Irfan was a security guard duty in the bazaar. Quoting Muhammad Talib, the victim’s father, the police said Irfan wanted to marry a divorcee, and when his family members refused to let him do so, he started quarrelling with them.
On Friday night he shot himself at his work place with a 30-bore pistol. The police found a suicide note in his pocket, in which he accused his relatives of being a source of constant stress and not feeding him what he wanted to eat. He went on to write, “…fed up with you people, I am going to commit suicide. Please don’t implicate anyone in my case.”
While quoting Talib, investigation officer Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Ghulam Shabbir said Irfan was in love with a much older woman who has three children. He told the police that Irfan’s friend had also been in love with the same woman and had also after committed suicide in the same fashion after his family refused to give their approval to the relationship.
Shabbir said that after recording Talib’s statement, they have started investigations into the case and will cover all aspects, but added that it does appear to be suicide and murder is “highly unlikely”.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 23rd, 2014.