Murree immolation case: ‘Victim’s parents believe arrested men responsible’

SCBA probe team was unable to record statements from suspects, investigators

ISLAMABAD: A Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) fact-finding committee has recorded the statements of the parents of Maria Sadaqat, the teacher who was allegedly burnt alive in Murree on June 1.

As previously reported, Sadaqat, 19, was set ablaze by a group of people in a village in Murree district on June 1 after she refused a marriage proposal. She had sustained 85 per cent burn injuries and died a day later while admitted at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences.

Later the SCBA formed a three-member committee to probe the murder.

The committee — comprising former SCBA presidents Asma Jahangir and Kamran Murtaza, along with executive member Tehmina Mohibullah — went to Murree on Saturday to investigate the incident.

Murtaza told The Express Tribune that Sadaqat’s parents had told them that they were being pressurised to compromise with the suspects, while adding that three out of the five accused have been arrested so far.

He said the family believes the arrested persons are the ones responsible.

Murtaza added that despite several attempts to contact the suspects, the committee was unable to record their statements, or even take one from the investigating officer. He added that at this point, he was not in a position to offer an opinion on the case

The police have arrested three men, who have since told investigators that they were not present at the crime scene or even in the village when the incident took place. On the request of the Murree police, the Rawalpindi Saddar IT lab is collecting cell phone data records of the suspects to establish whether or not they were present in the village when the murder occurred.

Meanwhile, SCBA President Ali Zafar said he expects the fact-finding committee to file the report on the next working day (Monday).

He further stated that he had reason to believe that Maria, like others, would end up becoming a statistic, while the criminals would be set free. Ali said that hundreds of women were being killed in Pakistan with impunity, and the culprits were getting away with murder.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 12^th, 2016.