Domestic violence: Wife-beating saga ends with three dead

Armed clashes between two rival groups leaves one woman and her two brothers dead.

HARIPUR:

Three persons including a woman and her brother were shot dead while six others sustained gunshot wounds during an armed clash between two groups on Wednesday in the jurisdiction of Saddar Police Station.

The rivals were close relatives and the motive behind the triple-murder was reported to be domestic violence. Of the critically injured, three were shifted to Ayub Medical Complex Abbottabad for intensive care.

While recording his statement from his hospital bed, Abdul Majeed of Ghulamabad in Nartopa told the police that his daughter, Isma Bibi, married a close relative, Naseer, an army man, about two years back and the couple has a daughter. However, Naseer had begun beating his wife frequently and without provocation, and while Majeed asked him to restrain his violent side, it was to no avail.

On Wednesday morning, Naseer was beating Isma again. Majeed and some of his family members rushed to their home and tried to rescue his daughter but this infuriated Naseer.

Naseer’s brothers Shabir and Safeer opened fire at them with Kalashnikovs, killing Isma, 21, and Majeed’s son Muhammad Naeed, 19, and injuring him, his elder son Rabnawaz, brothers Faizoon and Zaheer Gul and nephew Nazar.

On the other hand, Naseer’s maternal uncle Muhammad Irshad, who was seriously wounded in the firing, lodged an FIR against Abdul Majeed, his brothers and sons, accusing them of opening fire at him and his son during the clash. He told the police that as a result of indiscriminate firing by the rivals, he and his son Muhammad Asad received bullet wounds. Muhammad Asad bled to death on the way to hospital.

The police have registered a criminal case against the nominated persons from the rival groups.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 9th, 2011.