GUJRAT: Police have booked the mother of Sana Cheema, the Italian national of Pakistani origin who was killed for honour allegedly by her father and brother, on charges of concealing the alleged murder of her daughter.

Saddar DSP Irfanul Haq Sulehria told Dawn that a case against Nargis Tahira had been registered under Section 201 of the Pakistan Penal Code in already registered case of murder against Sana’s father Ghulam Mustafa Cheema and brother Adnan Cheema under Section 302 as well as 311 of the PPC in Kunjah police station.

He claimed that Tahira was involved in the murder plot. “But when she learnt about her daughter’s murder by her husband and son, she quarrelled with her husband saying Sana should have been sent back to Italy to get rid of her.”

The DSP said Tahira, currently on bail, was booked since she did not let the police know about the murder. He said the police had recovered the piece of cloth allegedly used to strangulate Sana Cheema.

Meanwhile, the police produced both the suspects in the Sana case in the court of area magistrate on Monday after completion of their two-day physical remand. The court sent them to the district jail on judicial remand.

An Italian police team which arrived here two days ago to probe the Sana’s murder, is yet to launch its work in collaboration with the Gujrat police.

Sana was killed on April 18 last and was buried in her native Kot Fatehdin village.

The Gujrat police took an action when the news of her murder was published by Italian media. Her grave was exhumed on April 25 for autopsy and forensic analysis which confirmed the murder last week.

Published in Dawn, May 15th, 2018