TOBA TEK SINGH: A man, facing a fraud case, attempted to self-immolate on Wednesday outside the Gojra City police station.

Witnesses said Waseem Abbas, of Dastagir Colony, set himself ablaze after spraying petrol on his clothes and then ran into the police station. Police officials extinguished the fire but by that time Abbas had suffered major burn wounds.

He was rushed to the Gojra Tehsil Headquarters Hospital to be referred to the Faisalabad’s Allied Hospital because of his life-threatening injuries.

The fraud case against Abbas and his relatives –Ghulam Murtaza and Ghulam Rasool – was got registered by Safia Bibi, of Dastagir Colony, on Tuesday.

The complainant says she was illiterate and had adopted Abbas as her son. She sold her house and to buy a new house, she gave Abbas Rs3.7 million. Abbas bought her a house worth Rs1.17 million but its possession was not given to her. He handed her over another house. Later, Abbas bought another house at Rs800,000 and transferred its ownership to his own name fraudulently.

He also got a stamp paper signed from her under which he got transferred 2.5 marla from that house to Murtaza.

When she demanded that he transfer the other house to her, Abbas minted another Rs40,000 from her daughter Surayya Bibi. He also blackmailed Surayya to get divorce from her husband, Mushtaq, and marry him. On her refusal, Abbas filed a civil suit against Mushtaq to deprive him of his house with fake claim of ownership of his house.

After the case, the police had arrested Murtaza, while Abbas was at large till his appearance at the police station with the immolation act on Wednesday.

DPO Usman Akram Gondal visited the Gojra City police station. He told reporters that he had ordered an inquiry into the incident.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2017