RAWALPINDI: In a horrifying incident of domestic violence, a man murdered his two daughters, Anusha, 11, and Laraib, 3, and critically injured his wife, his brother, and a pedestrian in the densely populated area of Tench Bhatta on Monday.

The suspect, identified as Usman Anwar is serving in a government department as a technician, and aged between 32 and 35. He first attacked his wife with a knife cutting her jugular vein, then attacked his two little daughters slashing their main blood vessels (jugular veins), killing them on the spot.

Later, he attacked and injured his brother who also lived in the same house and then ran out of his house into the street where he had an encounter with a passerby Abdul Rehman, 18. He also attacked and injured Mr Rehman. A police official said the suspect shouted at Abdul Rehman saying: “Are you spying here.” The injured, however, was being treated at the hospital with a severe neck wound.

Ayesha, wife of the suspect, was admitted in a “serious condition” to the District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) and has yet to speak to the police. Anusha, 11, was a grade-V student while her younger sister Laraib was yet to start her schooling.

According to police the suspected killer had been in jail in connection with another case related to a property dispute in the family in which he was also identified as accused. Two weeks ago, he had been released from prison and there had been a “jirga” to settle the issues of “inheritance”, but Usman’s wife was reportedly disagreeing over some issues.

While quoting Usman’s brother Arslan, the police said that there had been a jirga on Monday to settle the issues but his wife refused to compromise on some matters. “First Usman attacked his wife, then his brother Arslan and after that, he slayed his two little daughters.

One of the family members sobbing outside the mortuary of the hospital said that they were still in disbelief that a man could do such a barbaric act to his loveliest daughters. Shortly after the incident at 11:15 am, the Rescue 1122 staff reached the spot and shifted the injured and dead to the hospital.

A sister of the injured Ayesha who was screaming after looking at the bodies of her two nieces in the mortuary told Dawn that her sister used to say that she would not leave this house in which her husband’s two brothers with their families also lived.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations Hafiz Kamran Asghar told Dawn that the suspect was arrested by the police on the spot while the murder weapon ‘knife’ was also recovered by the police.

“The motive behind the murder was a family dispute,” the SSP said. However, the police said that they have been investigating to understand the full circumstances of what happened in the morning that led to this incident. Noman Khan, brother of Ayesha Bibi, told Dawn that his sister was married to Usman Anwar for 14 years and they were blessed with two daughters Anusha and Laraib. He claimed that Usman had a quarrel with his brother Irfan over property and some other issues.

Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2024