August 13, 2002	Tuesday	Jamadi-us-Saani 3, 1423

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LAHORE, Aug 12: A man chopped to death his wife and their four children for “honour” at his house in Sherakot on Monday.

Sadiq, a bicycle repair shopowner, who confessed to having slaughtered the entire family but two sons, was arrested after his brother-in-law, Siddique, reported the gory crime to the police.

Siddique told the police he got up early in the morning and found his sister Razia, 35, and her four children — Mehvish, 11; Asma, 9; Asif, 7; and Sajid, 5 — lying dead in two rooms. They all had been slaughtered, he added.

Siddique said his two other nephews — Rizwan, 4; and Amir, 3 — survived as they were asleep with him in a room upstairs.

Siddique told the police he went upstairs and woke up Sadiq, who was asleep at the rooftop. When Siddique broke the news to him, he (Sadiq) asked him to keep silent and threatened him with dire consequences.

Siddique said his brother-in-law owned the responsibility for killings and spoke of his plan to dispose of the bodies.

However, Siddique said he sneaked out of the house and raised alarm. Neighbours surrounded the house and one of them called the police.

The police reached the spot and took Sadiq into custody, who did not put up any resistance. The bodies were sent to the mortuary for an autopsy.

Sadiq, 45, told reporters that he had married Razia some 15 years ago at his native town of Jhavrian in Sargodha. Some years ago, he claimed, he found that Razia was involved in immoral activities. She had evolved illicit relations with some men, some whom her relatives, he added.

“I asked her many times to restrain from her activities and requested her to come back to him, but she did not mend her ways,” Sadiq said.

Last night, too, Sadiq claimed, he found a man at his house and had a brawl with Razia when she helped him escape.

Sadiq said he had planned the killings about a year ago. “I have no regrets,” he said.

He said he did the entire act in his senses, saying he first woke up his wife and slaughtered her with the chopper which he later produced before the police. Later, he confessed, he murdered his children one by one.

In reply to a question, Sadiq said he killed those of the children who he believed were illegitimate.

The police registered a case against Sadiq on the complaint of a local councillor, Mohammad Zubair.

Investigation is under way.