KARACHI: Police on Sunday claimed to have arrested a man for allegedly killing his wife, a school principal, in Parsi Colony earlier this month, officials said.

Syed Aliul Hasan was arrested for the murder of his wife, Ambreen Fatima, 41, on Dec 10, according to Soldier Bazaar police SHO Rafay Tanoli.

Initially, the suspect had claimed that she died during a robbery attempt but investigators unearthed vital evidence which helped them to arrest him.

His second wife, Saher Shams, and his brother-in-law Baalach were also arrested.

The arrested husband had earlier told the police that the couple was returning home in the Soldier Bazaar area when two gunmen riding a motorbike chased and tried to loot them. The suspect further told the police that he was told to hand them his mobile phone, which he resisted. When they opened fire on them a bullet hit the woman in the temple that proved fatal.

The police had registered a case (FIR 299/2017) under sections 397 (robbery or dacoity with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code against two unknown men.

SHO Rafay Tanoli told Dawn on Sunday that the suspect had taken his wife to a private hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival. He refused to get her post-mortem examination conducted at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre or Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi.

Investigators got the cell phone call record of the suspect, which provided significant clues. Mr Tanoli said that before and after the murder, the man rang up his second wife, Saher Shams, and visited her home the same morning.

The police interrogated Baalach, who told the police that his sister woke him up at around 6am on Dec 10 and told him that Mr Ali had murdered his first wife.

Furthermore, there was sign of blackening on the victim’s temple, which indicated that the bullet was fired at a very close range, said the SHO.

He said that Saher Shams was a friend of the victim, Ambreen. Ali and Saher had been involved in love affair and later, on the insistence of Saher, they tied the knot secretly and their Nikah was solemnised. Now, Saher was insisting on Rukhsati, which ‘compelled’ Ali to kill his first wife.

During the initial probe, Ali emerged as the main culprit of the murder, said Mr Tanoli. He added that the police were probing if there was a ‘direct’ role of his second wife and brother-in-law in the incident.

Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2017