BAHAWALNAGAR: Police have arrested a man on charges of torturing his wife to death and then hanging her body from a ceiling fan to dub it as suicide in Dunga Bunga here on Wednesday.

The first information report registered with the Dunga Bunga police said Waqas of Mauza Khemaywala married Gulnaz of Mauza Kamilpura about eight years ago, and the couple had two children. However, their relations soured.

On July 19, Gulnaz’s in-laws handed over her body to her parents, telling them that she had committed suicide by hanging herself from a ceiling fan. However, Gulnaz’s parents suspected that she did not commit suicide but was allegedly murdered when signs of violence were found on her body.

The FIR said on July 21, when Gulnaz’s parents contacted her in-laws, they admitted in front of witnesses that she did not commit suicide. The in-laws told them that on the day of the incident, her husband tortured her to death during an argument. Police booked three people, including Waqas’ parents, under sections 302 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code and started investigations.

RAPE: The A-Division police claimed on Wednesday to have arrested a man on charges of raping a woman on the premises of the court when she went to the court to be shifted to the Darul Aman after a quarrel with her husband.

The first information report said after being upset with her husband, ‘S’ of Tibba Chishtian reached the Bahawalnagar civil court on the eve of July 18 at about 4pm to go to Darul Aman, where a man ‘A’ (a lawyer’s reader) lured her into a chamber and allegedly raped her.

Later, he took her to a house where the man kept her for three days. The victim managed to escape on July 22 and informed the police about the incident, it added.

Police said the suspect had been booked and arrested. Further investigation is under way.

Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2025