Capital Crime: Youngster killed ‘by neighbour over blackmail’

Suspect accused Tauseef having sexually assaulting him and taking his nude photographs which he used to blackmail him.

FAISALABAD:

A youngster was shot and killed and his body set ablaze in Mammo Kanjan area on Wednesday by a neighbour allegedly over blackmail and sexual assault.

Police have arrested 15-year-old Muhammad Shehzad, an intermediate student, and his friend Muhammad Ramazan in a case registered on a complaint filed by Khalid Mehboob, the uncle of deceased Tauseef.

Station House Officer Younas Gujjar claimed that during initial interrogation Shehzad had confessed to killing his 18-year-old neighbour. Gujjar said that Shehzad accused Tauseef having sexually assaulting him and taking his nude photographs which he used to blackmail him. “Tauseef had been threatening to send the photographs to my sister’s cell phone number,” the suspect told the police. This, he said, pushed him to kill Tauseef.

SHO Gujjar quoted Shehzad as saying that he had shot Tauseef on Wednesday afternoon after he fell unconscious on eating poisoned food Shehzad had given him. Later, the suspect doused the body with kerosene oil and set it on fire.

Complainant Mehboob

Police said Ramazan had expressed ignorance about the killing.

“He said he was Shehzad’s college fellow and friend but he had no role in the crime,” SHO said.

He said the two would be taken to a court with a request for physical remand.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 11^th, 2011.