Representational image. PHOTO: REUTERS
Hyderabad SSP Adeel Hussain told The Express Tribune that the arsonist poured petrol under the main door of the apartment and set it alight. As a result, Resham, her mother Jannat Kambrani, 54, and her sisters Asma, 22, Neha, 18, and Sanam, 13, were burnt to death.
Kambrani and her three younger daughters died on the spot. Meanwhile, Dero himself brought Resham to Bhitai Hospital in Latifabad, where she succumbed to her injuries. In a statement given to the police prior to her death, she had absolved her husband of the charge of arson, even though the police had suspected his involvement. She had claimed that they had placed oil lamps next to the floor mats on which they slept, as the apartment did not have an electricity connection.
A few months before the fire, Resham had left her husband's home in Bhitai Nagar with her children and moved in with her mother. Dero had allegedly suspected that his wife had been having an extramarital affair.
On the night of the incident, Dero went to the flat around 9pm, asking his wife to return to his home, stated Hussain. "Resham and her mother fought with Dero, and she refused to return," the SSP said, quoting Dero's statement. The suspect, who is a rickshaw driver, forcefully took both the children away from his wife, leaving them at his residence before returning to set the apartment ablaze.
"We have obtained video footage of Arshad buying petrol in a bottle from a petrol pump," the SSP said. The incident happened around 1am, at which time Dero's mobile phone was showing his presence in Bhitai Nagar.
Dero has confessed to the crime.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 13th, 2020.
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