LAHORE: Four police teams on Wednesday continued raiding residences and other places for the arrest of suspects involved in the brutal killing of a pregnant woman near the Lahore High Court on Tuesday.

The woman was stoned to death by her family members for marrying a man of her choice.

The suspects had intercepted 25-year-old Farzana on her way to the Lahore High Court and attacked her with bricks. Police booked her father, brothers, cousins and some other relatives.

Muhammad Iqbal criticized the policemen who, he said, had only played the role of a silent spectator and never tried to save his wife from the attackers.

Civil Lines SP Mufakhar Adeel said the Mozang police had registered a murder case against six nominated and over 20 unidentified suspects.

He said the nominated suspects were victim’s father Azeem, brothers Zahid and Ghulam Ali, cousins Mazhar Iqbal and Jahan Khan and aunt Saeeda.

He said the police had arrested victim’s father and recovered a pistol from his possession.

The SP said that four police teams headed by the Nankana DPO, the SP and four inspectors were raiding residences and other places in Nankana and elsewhere for the arrest of suspects.

He said the suspects had locked their homes and shifted to some other places in a bid to escape their arrest. He said the victim’s father told investigators that four people were involved in plotting the murder.

Murdered: A man killed a woman when she refused to marry him in Awan Town on Wednesday.

Police said 26-year-old Asma had been divorced around six months ago and was living with her parents with her two children.

The suspect, identified as 25-year-old Zeeshan, was a labourer by profession.

Police said both Asma and Zeeshan were residents of Awan Town and knew each other for around three years.

Sabzazar Sub-Inspector Rasheed Ahmad told Dawn Zeeshan liked Asma and asked her to marry him but she refused. He said the suspect got enraged and shot Asma dead at her house. Her mother was also injured in the firing and was in a critical condition, according to hospital sources.

Police arrested the suspect, who confessed to his crime, and recovered two pistols from his possession.

Police moved the body to a morgue for autopsy and registered a case against the suspect on the complaint of victim’s father Rehmat Ali.

Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2014