Fourth daughter: Man chops off his wife’s hands with axe

Musarrat says she has been abused by her husband ever since she gave birth to her fourth daughter.

KHANEWAL: A man chopped off his wife’s hands after she gave birth to their fourth daughter.

Illah Abad resident Musarrat is the mother of four daughters and said that she had been abused by her husband ever since she gave birth to her fourth daughter.

“My daughter was born nearly two months ago and ever since he has tortured me,” she told doctors and police before she collapsed.  Musarrat delivered a baby girl one and half months ago and her husband Altaf detained her with her daughters in a single room of the house. “We were all locked up for nearly two months and every day we would dread the time he returned home,” she told the police.

Musarrat told police officials that Altaf used to beat her with a stick every day and it started immediately after she delivered their fourth daughter Rabia.
“He blamed me for having daughters and he wouldn’t let me forget it. Now he has chopped off my hands and I cannot forget it,” she said.

On hearing her cries, one of the neighbours told Musarrat’s father Lal Baksh about the situation. “They told me that she had been abused for months. We hadn’t seen her but her but we had no idea this was happening,” Baksh said.

Laal Baksh arrived at his daughter’s house but Altaf along with his brothers Mukhtar, Mushtaq and Akram attempted to kill Musarrat with a knife. Altaf attacked his wife with an axe and chopped off both of her hands. Altaf and his brothers also beat Laal Baksh with sticks. Baksh informed the police and police officials recovered the victim and immediately shifted her to the THQ Hospital Kabeerwala where according to MS Dr Zafar Masood her condition was critical. “She has suffered massive bleeding not only from her hands but other open wounds and we are not sure we will be able to save her,” he said.

“When we found her there was so much blood it is hard to describe it. The entire floor was covered in blood,” said SHO Mehr Waseem.

Dr Masood also said that the children and their mother were severely malnourished. “He had detained them for over a month and nearly starved them,” he said. Police officials raided the house but initially Altaf and his brothers escaped the scene. Saddar Police Station House Officer (SHO) Mehr Waseem registered an FIR on a complaint filed by Laal Baksh and conducted raids in the village.

An FIR No40/2011 under Sections no337 F-1, 337 A-1,148,149 has been lodged against six people including the husband of the victim. Police officials conducted raids and have caught all of the accused. The men are currently being interrogated by the police.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 26^th,  2011.