LAHORE: Multan police arrested a man allegedly involved in throwing acid on his second wife and two stepsons over a domestic dispute on Monday.

Farhan Ikhlaq lodged a complaint with the police that his sister Khadija Bano and her two sons Ahmad and Abdul Sami were in their home when their stepfather Majid threw acid on them and their mother and fled the scene.

On the complaint, Jalilabad police registered the case under 336-B of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) that deals with the punishment for causing hurt by a corrosive substance.

According to the FIR, Ikhlaq said that on being informed by his grandson that someone had thrown acid at his sister Khadija and her two sons, he rushed to her house along with his brother, Nasir Iqbal. Upon reaching there, he found that Khadija’s face was burning and smoke was rising from her hair because of the acid burns. The room was also filled with fumes, he added. Ikhlaq said that his sisters’ sons told him that their stepfather, Muhammad Majid, threw acid at them and their mother and fled away.

Ikhlaq then called the police and Rescue 1122, who reached the scene and transported the victims to the hospital for treatment.

“The accused often quarreled with my sister. He wants to go back to his first wife and divorce my sister,” the FIR quoted Ikhlaq as saying. “That is why he threw acid at Khadija and her sons and committed this injustice. Legal action should be taken against him,” the FIR added.

Rescue 1122 confirmed that the incident took place near Daulat Gate Imambargah and rescue teams were dispatched from nearby stations to the site.

“Parts of the woman’s face and head were affected by the [acid] attack,” Rescue 1122 said in a statement.

“Rescue personnel reached the spot and provided first aid to the woman and then shifted her to Nishtar Hospital,” it added.

A Multan police spokesperson claimed that the main suspect, Majid, was arrested and he would be produced in the court today.

Multan City Police Officer Sadiq Ali Dogar said the suspect has been arrested and confessed to his crime. A case was registered against him under the relevant sections of law, he added.

He said that forensic evidence has been collected and the CCTV footage of the incident has also been made a part of the investigation.

Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2025