BAHAWALPUR, Feb 14: The local police claimed on Friday to have arrested a psychopath, who raped and killed eight aged women at a village in Ahmedpur East in the last two years.

SSP Sikandar Hayat claimed at a press conference that the police had been making efforts for the last few months to find a clue to the women’s blind murders.

Deployed in plainclothes, he said, the police on the night of Feb 9 arrested accused Abdul Razzaq, who assaulted an insane woman at a graveyard near Abbasia Chowk. The police officer added the suspect’s clothes were stained with blood. Later, he was taken to the tehsil headquarters hospital where the victim confirmed him to be the culprit, he said.

Talking to newsmen, Razzaq confessed that he had raped eight women and strangled them on resistance. He said he used to pay Rs50 to a woman to satisfy himself.

He also confessed to have committed the crime in other cities, but declined to identify those places. He is a professional mason and has three daughters and a son named Siddique, who is a member of a religious outfit.

The suspect said he was ready to undergo any punishment. He told newsmen that he also lived with MQM chief Altaf Husain in Karachi, where he had gone to earn his livelihood a few years ago.

The SSP told newsmen that the accused gave separation to his wife Zubaida eight years ago and had been living with his sister Ghulam Jannat at Qureshabad locality in Ahmedpur East.

A Seraiki speaking, Razzaq said he belonged to the Abbasi family and could speak Arabic as well. The SSP said he was a cunning man who left for Multan in Ramzan and assaulted women at various shrines.

Coming back to Lahore, he said, the accused stayed at a lawyer’s house and taught Quran to his children. He was also an addict, the SSP added.