Police arrest woman, her cousin for killing rickshaw driver in Karachi

Suspect claims the shot that took his life was fired accidentally

KARACHI: Gizri Police claimed on Sunday to have arrested a woman, Amber, and her cousin, Sujawal, for their alleged involvement in the murder of a rickshaw driver, 40-year-old Muhammad Iqbal, who was gunned down at a house on Khayaban-e-Rahat, in Defence Housing Authority, on Saturday.

According to the police, the weapon used in the killing has been seized from the possession of the arrested suspects.

Meanwhile, an FIR has been registered against Amber and Sujawal, under sections 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of a common intention) and 319 (unintentional murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code, on behalf of Iqbal's relative, Karimuddin. The investigation of the case has been transferred to the Investigation Police.

Gizri Police Station SHO Rizwan Haider said that Amber, in her initial statement to the police, had claimed that four robbers had broken into her house, on whom, she and Sujawal had opened fire in self-defence. However, Iqbal, who used to drop her children home after school was accidently injured in the firing and he later died, she had revealed to the police.

However, the statements she gave to the police later contradicted her initial claims, the SHO said.

According to SHO Haider, giving a different version of the account to the police later, Amber revealed that the gun used in the incident belonged to Sujawal while she had accidently fired the bullet that claimed Iqbal's life, hitting him in the chest. She said that Sujawal, along with his mother, was visiting her when the incident took place, the SHO revealed. Some painters were busy working outside the house at the time of the incident and puzzled by the sound of firing, they left the place, Amber said.

In another contradictory statement, Amber claimed that Sujawal was holding the gun and she accidently pressed the trigger while taking it from him. At that instance, Iqbal, who had just arrived with her children, was hit by the bullet, she said. Amber claimed that she was not aware that the gun was loaded and had shot Iqbal accidentally, not on purpose.

She further said that she earlier gave a false statement to the police because she was perplexed and that Iqbal had been dropping her children to school and giving them a ride back home for the past eight to 10 years.

Sujawal, who is a resident of Liaquatabad no. 10, said that he couldn't understand how the shot was fired. He said that he has been issued a license for the gun and planned to sell it in the future. Sujawal said that he was visiting his aunt (mother's sister), who is on dialysis, when the incident took place.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 25^th, 2019.