Tharparkar murder suspect arrested, admits killing for honour

PPP's Chandar Sharma was shot dead on August 18

HYDERABAD: The suspect who shot dead an activist of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chandar Sharma in Tharparkar on August 18 confessed to perpetrating the crime for the sake of honour. The police arrested on Thursday the suspect, Seeta Ram Kohli, and on Friday allowed him to pour his heart out before the media in Tharparkar.

"I killed Sharma because he was in a relationship with my wife [Reena Kumari]," he claimed, saying that he alone planned and executed the murder and none of his relatives or friends connived with him. "I also intended to kill my wife and mother-in-law [Umeedi]," he added.



He blamed his mother-in-law for facilitating her daughter's affair. Kohli said that he sold his motorcycle and mobile phone and bought a pistol from Naukot town and 50 bullets from Umerkot.

"Sharma's mobile number was saved in my wife's phone under the name of Lata. The two also used to exchange messages of love and romance," he alleged. According to him, Sharma used to visit his residential quarter often.

After the disclosure, Kohli and his brothers one day asked Sharma to stop visiting their residence. "Instead of listening to us, he threatened to get me arrested by the police."

Kohli said he wanted to move out of the town and approached former MNA and current MPA Faqir Sher Muhammad Bilalani to help him get his wife, Kumari, who is a lady health worker, transferred to another place. However, he claimed that Sharma intervened in the matter to stop the transfer.

"On July 30, when I returned from Hyderabad, I saw Sharma sitting with my wife and my mother-in-law was also in the house." That day, Kohli said, he decided he would kill all three of them. "I don't feel guilty for killing Sharma."



The suspect said he escaped to Karachi and subsequently other towns after the incident. The police arrested him from Umerkot district.

Tharprkar SSP Imran Qureshi said the suspect also confessed before the police. According to him, the police have obtained a three-day physical remand for further interrogation.

Sharma, a father of four children and a personal secretary of PPP MNA Mahesh Kumar Malani, was shot dead at his friend's shop near Sadiq Faqeer ground. The PPP observed a day of mourning on August 19. Initially, the party's leadership saw a conspiracy behind the killing to destroy the peace in Tharparkar.