HARIPUR: The area magistrate allowed two days physical remand of the woman accused of having bludgeoned to death her minor stepson, police said on Tuesday.

Kotnajibullah police quoted Ansar Hussain, a resident of Muhallah Katha Kotnajibullah, as saying that he was a daily wager at a grocery shop in Taxila. On Monday, he left for his job in the morning leaving his only son Rehan Ansar, 8, withhis wife Huma Khitab who is his second wife as he had divorced his first wife (Rehan’s mother).

He told police that at around3pm, the same afternoon, his wife Huma Khitab informed him that his son Rehan Ansar was playing in the street when someone beat him to death.

He said that when he reached home and inquired about the cause of his minor son’s death, the circumstantial evidence and statements of the area people proved that noneother but his wife had allegedly beaten Rehan to death.

He said that when he pressed hard Huma confessed that Rehan had become too challenging and in a bid to control him she beat him with stick, as a result he collapsed and died before any medicalassistance could be given to him.

The complainant told the police that Huma had been behaving violently with Rehan and, about a couple of months back, his son had to be hospitalised for days after merciless beating by Huma.

The family sources said that the minor victim’s body parts, including feet, legs, temple and head carried torture marks that led to his death. The hospital sources also confirmed that the cause of the minor boy’s death was blunt weapon strikes on his head and other body parts.

The police registered a murder case against the alleged murderer, Huma Khitab, under section 302 PPC. She was produced before the court of area magistrate who approved her two days physical remand. The investigation of the accused would be carried out in the jail premises.

Published in Dawn, July 9th, 2025