Husband ‘clubbed to death’ in his sleep by wife

Police investigate conflicting accounts of Musarrat’s motives.

FAISALABAD:

A woman allegedly clubbed her husband to death in his sleep with a rolling pin.

According to police officials, Chak No53JB resident Muhammad Hussain was found to have been clubbed to death under mysterious circumstances. Police officials said that the deceased’s brother alleged that his wife was responsible for the crime. “Hussain’s brother said that his wife had been having an affair but neighbours told us that she had been abused by him for years.

They said that she had recently been hospitalised for her injuries,” said Inspector Javed Siddique.

According to the police, Hussain was found dead in his house on Tuesday morning and no one was present inside the house at the time. On Tuesday morning, neighbours told Hussain’s brother Shabbir that the house was locked and they could smell something rotting.

“I smelt something rotting and it was terrible so I asked my husband to go and see what was happening with our neighbours,” said Hussain’s neighbour Shazia. Police officials found Hussain’s body and sent it for an autopsy. “I came in and saw his body in a terrible condition.

His head had been bludgeoned and he was covered with flies. I will never forget that sight for as long as I live,” said Shabbir. Local residents called police to the scene and following an inspection, Hussain’s body was sent to the local DHQ for an autopsy. Doctors said the deceased had been killed at least 3 days ago and that the body had begun decomposing after being kept in a locked room.

“We couldn’t conduct a full autopsy because of the condition of the body but we can confirm that he died at least three days ago and by a blow to the head,” said DHQ Dr Bahadur Nawaz.

According to Shabbir Ahmad, who filed the case, he witnessed a scuffle between Javed, the brother in-law of the deceased, who had come from Gujranwala along with a companion and had asked for Hussain’s daughter’s hand in marriage. “He came here a few days ago and asked for my niece’s hand in marriage.

My brother and I refused but his wife was adamant,” Shabbir told the police. Ahmed told police that Musarrat and her brother had sworn that Hussain would pay for refusing the marriage.

“It is unclear whether the reason for the murder was the daughter’s marriage or abuse because there are conflicting reports of the case,” said Superintendent Police (SP) Amjad Kahu. “He used to beat her often and it had gone on for years. She was recently in the hospital getting treatment for her wounds,” said Sana, a neighbour of the family.

Shabbir told police that his brother had been killed by Musarrat, who had fled the district with her three children.

Neighbours of the couple have told police that Musarrat had been abused by her husband for over 9 years and had left with her children for her own protection. “We are investigating the case and the truth behind the murder,” said Kahu, adding that police were searching for Musarrat’s whereabouts.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 11^th, 2011.