Celebrating death: Men dance around bodies after shooting 3 relatives

Aqil and accomplices shot his sister, niece and other relative over ‘family matter’.

FAISALABAD:

A man shot and killed his sister, niece and another relative and began dancing around the dead bodies in the limits of Police Station Langrana on Thursday evening.

According to eyewitnesses, the accused, Aqil dragged the three bodies outside to the street where he and his three accomplices began dancing around them and hurling abused at the deceased. “They were spitting at the bodies and congratulating themselves over having killed the women because they had rejected their demands,” said an eyewitness Mazhar.

According to locals in the area, Chak No.211-JB resident Mukhtar Bibi’s daughter Farhat Bibi had married her brother Aqil’s son Allah Raza seven years ago. Farhat Bibi has a six-year-old daughter Samreen, who was injured by her father. “Farhat came back to her mother fearing that her husband would kill her. She said that he beat her viciously and had pushed her daughter down the stairs and she had cut her head open,” a neighbour Babar told police. Accused Aqil repeatedly asked his sister Mukhtar Bibi to send his son’s wife back. “He said that she belonged to them and that if she didn’t send her back she would be punished,” Babar said.

Aqil admitted that he killed the women and celebrated their death. “My sister tried to set conditions for her girl’s return and she had no right to do so. Farhat was married and my son can do whatever he wants with her,” he told police.

Mukhtat Bibi refused to send her daughter and grand daughter back home unless her nephew Allah Raza promised to treat them well and never to beat them again. “They refused to agree to any conditions and threatened them instead,” Babar said.

On Tuesday night, Aqil along with three other accomplices Adial, Ulfat and Umar Hayat stormed into his sister Mukhtar Bibi’s house and demanded that she turn over her daughter to him. “He said he would take them home dead or alive but she refused and then he began firing,” said a servant at the house.

Aqil and Mukhtar Bibi exchanged hot words and Aqil all suddenly began firing due to which Mukhtar Bibi and her youngest daughter Mafi died on the spot, while Mafi’s husband Muhammad Aslam sustained serious injuries and died a few hours later. Farat Bibi survived the encounter after she ran and took shelter in a locked room with her daughter. “The men dragged the bodies outside into the street and began dancing around them and spitting at the corpses. Then they began throwing rubbish on them and jeering,” said an eyewitness, who called police. One of Aqil’s accomplices kidnapped Farhat’s daughter Samarran and escaped from the scene. Police officials have arrested Aqil and Ulfat and have registered cases against them.

Langrana police officials said that the men showed no remorse. “He boasted that he should have chopped up the bodies in little pieces and fed them to his dogs,” said Station House Officer (SHO) Shahadat Malhi. Police officials have registered a case on the complaint of Farat Babi daughter of Muhammad Aslam against the accused Adial, Ulfat, Umar Hayat and Aqil. SHO Malhi said that the police had already recovered Samarran.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 8^th, 2011.