Third wife, her boyfriend held for cop’s murder

Head constable was found dead inside his apartment

KARACHI: Within a few hours after a traffic policeman was found dead in his apartment in Nagan Chowrangi, the police arrested the victim's third wife and her alleged boyfriend, both of whom reportedly confessed.

Traffic police head constable Muhammad Saleem, who was posted at the Driving Licence Branch in Nazimabad as a wireless operator, was found dead inside his apartment in Country Tower on Thursday night.

Saleem's wife, Uzma Siddiqui, and her alleged boyfriend, Zahid, are in police custody and are said to have confessed the crime.

"Saleem had four children from his first two wives while I didn't have any children. He was my second husband," Siddiqui told the police.  "I befriended Zahid, who is a plumber by profession, and pretended that I was a widow to ask for his help in getting rid of Saleem," she was quoted as saying. Three days ago, Siddiqui fed her husband sleeping pills after which Zahid and his friends hammered him to death, early on Tuesday.

According to New Karachi police station SHO Faizul Hassan, the woman left the house and was living somewhere else. "The neighbour found the victim's three-day-old body after they entered the house by breaking the door," he said.

The police spoke to Siddiqui about the incident but she kept changing her statement until she eventually confessed. The police arrested Zahid on the basis of information she provided.

The police declared the duo's arrests during a press conference held by New Karachi SP Saqib Ibrahim at his office. SP Ibrahim said that Zahid's accomplices used a hammer to kill the victim.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 28^th, 2016.