Custody row: Man ‘burnt by wife’ dies at hospital

Relatives say he was set on fire on refusal to hand over daughter.

VEHARI: Relatives of a man who died on Saturday from burn injuries inflicted allegedly by his wife and her accomplices protested against the police on Sunday. They demanded that the suspects be immediately arrested and put on trial.

City Police Station House Officer Muhammad Baksh said they had arrested one of the suspects, Basheer Ahmed, and were in touch with Faisalabad police to track down Zainab Bibi, wife of deceased Muhammad Sharif, and her other accomplices.

Doctors at Vehari district headquarters (DHQ) hospital had referred Sharif, a resident of Chak 11/W-B, to Nishter Hospital four days ago when he was brought to them with severe burn injuries. Medical superintendent Chaudary Muhammad Ashraf said Sharif had burns over 80 per cent of his body.

He said there was no burn unit at the DHQ hospital so they referred him to Nishter Hospital. However, his relatives brought him back to the DHQ hospital on Saturday, where he died.

They said they were not satisfied with the treatment at Nishter Hospital.

Sharif’s sister Fatima Saleem said he had separated from Zainab Bibi several months ago and returned to live at his parents’ home. She said Sharif had brought his eldest daughter, who is four years old, with him. He had been living with Zainab at her parents’ house in Faisalabad since the two got married seven years ago, she added.

Fatima Saleem said Zainab Bibi and some of her relatives – identified in the FIR as Yousuf, Abdul Jabbar and Mitthoo – had visited them to take the girl back. She said the suspects started beating Sharif on his refusal to hand over the girl and later set him on fire.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 9^th, 2012.