LAHORE: A mother of two minor daughters was allegedly tortured to death by her in-laws in Gujjarpura area ‘for not giving birth to a baby boy’.

Saba (30) died of severe torture marks on parts of her body, particularly on the neck, according to the first information report.

The police nominated her husband Jahangir, her brother-in-law Saleem, mother-in-law Nilo Begum and Jehangir’s brother-in-law Shabbir alias Babu.

The police officials, relatives of the woman and the FIR stated that Saba was first subjected to severe torture and then strangled.

About the motive behind the murder, Abid Ali [in the FIR] alleged that his sister had married Jehangir some four years back and gave birth to two daughters, one of them was four months old.

The in-laws of his sister wanted a son and they used to curse her for giving birth to daughters, he said. They had been abusing her and each time the matter was resolved on the intervention of the family elders.

On Monday night, he said, his brother Qasim and his friend Zeshan rushed to Saba’s home when they got a call about torture on her.

As they entered the house of her in-laws, they found her unconscious with many torture marks on her face and neck, Abid said adding that they immediately took her to hospital where she succumbed to her injuries.

The police said the suspects fled the scene shortly after her death and a team was dispatched for their arrest.

Published in Dawn, February 3rd, 2021