MULTAN: Two minor girls were allegedly killed by their former aunt, in what relatives say was an act of revenge for a bitter divorce.
The tragic incident took place in the rural area of Chah Chaanu Wala in Multan, where two bodies were discovered on Sunday.
The girls’ father, Iqbal Hussain, a poor day labourer, said the family had gone to the nearby village of Mohatta Pur to attend a wedding when the girls went missing. Nine-year-old Mehar Bano, seven-year-old Zehra Bibi and four-year-old Shahida Rani disappeared during the function Friday evening.
Hussain and his wife set out to search for the girls, with their eight-month-old daughter in tow. On Sunday morning, the body of Mehar Bano was found in a canal in the jurisdiction of Muzafarabad police station, near Qasim Bela Colony.
Residents informed the police, who shifted the body to the morgue in Nishtar Hospital where Iqbal later went to confirm that the dead child is his eldest daughter.
The same afternoon, the dumped body of Zehra Bibi was found in the jurisdiction of Alpa police station, near Langriayla Bridge. When Iqbal identified his daughter, doctors said she was killed after being brutally tortured. The whereabouts of the third child, Shahida Raani, are not known.
The family accused Nasreen Bibi, the ex-wife of Iqbal’s brother Zulfiqar, for being involved in the abduction and murder.
Iqbal’s family said that Nasreen had run away with a man named Mazhar Muhammad and later publicly divorced Zulfiqar before a panchayat.
They alleged that Nasreen had threatened Iqbal for helping Zulfiqar deprive her of the custody of her three children with him.
Police arrested Nasreen Bibi and two alleged accomplices for the torture and murder of Iqbal’s daughters.
Meanwhile, Iqbal’s relatives staged a protest against the police for their poor handling of the investigation. The protesters refused to bury the deceased, and staged a sit-in on the main road with the bodies.
DSP Saddar Region Tanvir Ahmed told The Express Tribune that investigations were under way. He said the bodies have been handed over to the relatives after taking samples.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 28th, 2014.