Prime suspect in Ramsha murder case arrested

There are reports Zulfo surrendered himself because of immense pressure on local PPP leadership


Our Correspondent February 07, 2019
There are reports Zulfo surrendered himself because of immense pressure on local PPP leadership. PHOTO: FILE

KARACHI: Five days after the cold-blooded murder of a teenage girl, Khairpur police on Wednesday claimed to have arrested the prime suspect, Zulfiqar Wassan alias Zulfo Wassan.  He, along with other accomplices, had allegedly kidnapped Ramsha Wassan, 16, before killing her on Friday.

According to the police record, Zulfo, a notorious criminal who is said to be a relative of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leaders Manzoor Wassan and Nawab Wassan, is involved in more than 20 criminal cases of killing, kidnappings and robberies. He initially kidnapped the girl, who was from a poor family in Haji Nawab Wassan Village, and later killed her because she had expressed her wish to marry a boy of her choice from another village.

Voluntary surrender

There are reports that Zulfo surrendered himself to the police because of immense pressure on local PPP leadership by the civil society, human rights activists and political parties of Sindh, who were protesting the horrific incident and demanding action against the culprits involved in the murder. Police have registered the case as an incident of honour killing, seemingly to weaken the murder case. However, the civil society organisations and rights activists call it 'cold-blooded murder' because the suspect does not have any relation with the family and they were reportedly motivated by the desire to establish their "terror" and enforcing the rules of the village that no girl can marry of her free-will.

Ramsha Wassan's suspected murderer still at large

Reports gathered from various sources suggest that when Zulfo came to know about the affair of the girl with a boy from the neighbouring village, he kidnapped her on January 19, saying "he will convince her to change her mind". The poor parents of Ramsha, who were servants of the influential Wassan family, went to Manzoor pleading for the release of their daughter from Zulfo's custody. The girl on the interference of Manzoor, who is a former Sindh home minister, was released, but she insisted to marry the boy. In order to teach her a lesson, Zulfo, according to reports, along with his accomplices entered Ramsha's house on Friday, dragged her in front of her mother and shot her dead.

"It is not clear whether he acted on his will, or that someone else had ordered him to. Police are investigating this angle of the case too," a police official, who is part of the investigation team, told The Express Tribune.

Manzoor and his family have distanced themselves from the case. They condemned the incident, calling the girl 'innocent' and a 'martyr' and disowned Zulfo, calling him 'a mere relative'.

According to sources, however, Zulfo was very close to Manzoor and former MNA Nawab. Manzoor said that some politicians and media were targeting him and his family and linking them with the horrific incident. "The girl had left her home a few days ago and wanted to marry Izhar Wassan, a boy from nearby village," he said. He added that she left the house and went to marry him. "We and the girl's family approached Izhar's parents and returned Ramsha. But, suddenly this incident had occurred," he said, reiterating that Zulfo had killed the girl, but he was not involved in her kidnapping.

After the murder, the mother of the girl protested, but now she too is silent. Even the parents have refused to lodge a case of their daughter. Police, however, have registered an FIR of 'honour killing'.

"Our initial probe revealed that the victim was murdered in the name of honour," Khairpur SSP Umer Tufail said.  He, however, added that Zulfo has committed three honour killings and is a symbol of terror in the area. Zulfo is also involved in heinous crimes for the last 25 years and is accused in more than 20 cases, he added. The SSP said that an FIR was registered on behalf of the state in order to avert pressure on the victim's family and threats posed to them for withdrawing the case and, he added, to prevent compound ability being used.  According to the SSP, a team, under the supervision of Khairpur ASP Dr M Imran Khan, has been constituted for collecting ground information, collecting and analysing technical data, intelligence gathering, conducting raids and to carry out targeted operations for the arrest of the suspects involved in this case.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 7th, 2019.

COMMENTS

Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ