2 dead after woman jumps in river with 4 children

Rescue teams save woman and two children, two of her children died.

GUJRANWALA/GUJRAT/KUNJAH: A woman tried to commit suicide by jumping into the Chenab River along with her four children on Friday. Rescue teams managed to save the woman and two of her children while two others died.

Kunjah Police Precincts Village Jeranwali resident Munazza Bibi (35) jumped into the river along with her four children on Friday due to abject poverty. Munazza’s two sons’ one-year-old Samiullah and two-year-old Mehboob Ali died. The woman and her five-year-old daughter Safeera and four-year-old son Ahmed Mujtuba were rescued by locals. Rescue officials shifted the bodies of the children to hospital and the woman and her children are being provided with free medical treatment at the DHQ hospital. Munazza married Ghulam Mustafa eight years ago but left him because he was an alcoholic and the family had no money.  According to Munazza’s neighbours Ghulam Mustafa was mentally disturbed and his alcoholism and poverty had made him extremely violent. Kunjah sub inspector Umer Hayat said the family of the deceased does not want any action to be taken regarding the suicide attempt.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 12^th, 2011.