Murder most foul: Man commits suicide after killing woman

Police have no explanation for why he shot her or himself.

MUZAFFARABAD:

A 20-year-old woman was shot dead in Muzaffarabad on Tuesday by a man who later turned the gun on himself.

Police told The Express Tribune that Anam Abbasi, a resident of Sangrpathara Dhirkot, some 60 kilometres from Muzaffarabad, was on her way to Government Post Graduate College for Women, Muzaffarabad, where she was enrolled in a BSc programme.  While passing by Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Road, she was caught up in a harsh exchange with Muhammad Haris, 20, who then shot her, killing her on the spot. Haris was a resident of Sundgali, Muzaffarabad.

Senior Superintendent of the Muzaffarabad Police (SSP) Shafqat Tanveer maintained that before he turned the gun on her, Haris and Abbasi were seen talking to each other by eyewitnesses. Tanveer also posited that Haris shot himself right afterwards in order to avoid arrest. He was shifted to CMH, where he died.

Following autopsies of both bodies at CMH, the police handed them over to their respective relatives. Investigations to ascertain the motivation behind the murder are under way, said SSP Tanveer.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 16^th, 2014.