LAHORE, Sept 10: Shahdara police registered on Tuesday a murder case against a rickshaw driver for allegedly throwing his three-year-old daughter in the Ravi River to ‘punish his wife for not having a male baby’.

The FIR was lodged against Salamat Pura resident Muhammad Umar by his wife Sumaira Bibi.

The police arrested the suspect who, according to an investigator, confessed to committing the crime saying he took the extreme step as he nurtured a ‘grudge’ against his wife for not having a male child.

The suspect, however, told some TV channel that he did the horrible act because he had no money to feed his family.

He said Sumaira alleged in the FIR that Umar would torture her for giving birth to daughters -- Zainab (3) and one-year-old Fatima.

Sumaira told the police she was very happy when Umar told her that he wanted to take her along with their two daughters to a park for recreation.

However, when they reached the park, Zainab suddenly went missing. The couple searched for the girl but to no avail.

Quoting Sumaira, the police official said that later Umer lodged a report with the local police station about the ‘disappearance’ of their daughter.

Three days later Sumaira approached the police and expressed her suspicion that her husband might be involved in the matter.

The police took Umer into custody who during interrogation confessed to throwing the girl in deep waters of the river.

The police said they were employing divers to fish out the girl’s body.

STRANGLED: A man allegedly strangled his newly-married niece over a family dispute in Sherakot on Tuesday.

Police said Tania Bibi who contracted marriage three months back, was living with her parents near Babu Sabu due to some differences with her husband.

The police said her uncle Shahbaz had asked her to go back to her husband but she refused.

On Tuesday, both exchanged hot words and Shahbaz strangled her to death.

Police arrested the suspect and sent the body to the city morgue for autopsy after lodging a case.