CHAKWAL: A married woman of 22 years was subjected to horrific torture before being murdered in a village in Chakwal.

According to the autopsy report, there were several injuries inflicted with a sharp weapon on different parts of her body. “I have conducted hundreds of autopsies in my career but I have never seen such brutal killing,” a retired doctor said.

“The legs of the deceased had also been burnt,” District Police Officer (DPO) retired Capt Wahid Mehmood said.

Ironically, the prime suspect, the husband of the woman, also became a complainant in the case, stating that his wife was murdered by some unknown men.

The incident occurred in Pinwal village located in the jurisdiction of Saddar police station Chakwal on the night of July 26.

A police official said that after committing the crime, the killers threw the body of the deceased in a mini dam near the village. On the noon of July 27, some villagers informed the police and Punjab Emergency Service 1122 about a dead body floating in the dam.

The Rescue 1122 personnel fished the body out of the dam and shifted it to the District Headquarters Hospital Chakwal.

Later, a first information report (FIR) was registered by the husband of the deceased. The complainant stated in the FIR that he along with his wife and two children was sleeping in his house.

“On the morning of July 27 when I woke up, I found my wife missing. I tried to locate her but she could not be found,” he claimed, adding that he then went to his relatives in Khai village.

“When I was in Khai, my brother informed me that the body of a woman was found in the village dam. When I reached the site with my brother, I found that the body was of my wife,” the complainant added. He claimed that some unidentified persons had killed his wife due to unknown reasons.

The next day, the complainant and his accomplices themselves managed to obtain an interim bail.

“The suspect acted cleverly as he himself became the complainant and also obtained a bail. In fact, he along with some other accomplices is the alleged killer of his wife,” the DPO claimed.

“The culprits would be arrested soon,” the DPO said, adding that “we would convert this killing into a case of honour killing”.

The deceased left behind a daughter of 13 months and a son of two-and-a-half years.

According to police sources, her in-laws used to torture her as they suspected her of having an affair with another man in the village.

They had also filed a case against that man and his father.

“The woman fled the house four months ago allegedly with that man and lived in shelter homes in Lahore, Sheikhupura and Sialkot for three months,” a police official said, adding that her in-laws wanted her to give a statement against the man and his father in the court which she refused.

“Our father passed away on June 27 but her in-laws did not let her come to our home to attend his funeral,” the brother of the deceased said.

He further said they were not in contact with the deceased as her in-laws did not allow her to meet them.

“In the past, the husband of my sister used to drop her at our home; she would demand money from us as her husband did not earn. We gave her money by selling our goat,” the brother said.

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2024