Police arrest two men in suicide case of woman

Deceased's father blames police for preparing a weak case against the accused

HYDERABAD: The police have arrested two of the three suspects charged in the case of suicide of a woman who was  subjected to harassment and blackmail in Tando Muhammad Khan district. One of the suspects, Somchand, surrendered before Hyderabad Police on Tuesday and the other, Mahesh Kumar, was arrested from Mirpurkhas district on Wednesday.

The two, besides Ashok, allegedly blackmailed Aneela Parmar to extort money besides causing breakup of her engagement by sharing objectionable photographs of her. In the FIR, Parmar's father, Dr Lachman, who is a former medical superintendent, accused the three of blackmailing and harassing his daughter which prompted her to commit suicide on May 18.

However, the family blames the police for preparing a weak case against the accused as the sections of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, have not been inserted in the FIR. The case contains sections 322, 385, 500 and 506 of Pakistan Penal Code which are punishable with a maximum of two years imprisonment if convicted.



Section 385 pertains to putting a person in fear of injury in order to commit extortion, Section 500 pertains to punishment for defamation and section 506 for criminal intimidation. The police registered the case after Hyderabad AIG Dr Ghulam Sarwar Jamali and DIG Naeed Ahmed Shaikh took notice of the media reports.

Meanwhile, a local court granted five-day physical remand of Somchand to the police. Kumar will be produced in the court for remand on Thursday.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 23^rd, 2019.