Collective suicide: Together in the afterlife, a plan unfulfilled
The young couple had decided to commit suicide after facing opposition.
ISLAMABAD:
The two met at the abandoned house to commit collective suicide. But as the girl backed out of the plan, the boy insisted that she shoot him, police said. During the frenzy, the gun accidentally went off, fatally wounding the 20-year-old Obaid*, according to the Nilore police.
Police said Obaid and the 18-year-old Hina* wanted to get married, but the boy’s mother opposed their decision despite their repeated efforts to convince her. The young couple, in retaliation, decided to commit suicide.
The two met at an abandoned house belonging to the boy’s family in Chirah village, Dhok Mori. The plan was that the girl will first shoot the boy with a pistol, and then she will shoot herself. However, when the two decided to carry out the plan, the girl “went cold feet”, police said.
The boy, however, remained persistent and put the gun on his chest, asking her to pull the trigger. In the frenzy, the gun went off, fatally injuring Obaid, according to the police.
The girl was taken into custody by the women police station. Following the incident the boy’s family gathered around the girl’s house and fired warning shots, accusing the girl of murdering the boy and demanding her life in return, police said.
A police official said that when they arrested the girl, she was “in a state of shock” and had confined herself in a room. People acquainted with the couple and the family confirmed that the two were “in love and wanted to marry”, he added.
The boy’s body has been shifted to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences hospital for autopsy, while the murder weapon has been recovered from the crime site. *Names have been changed
Published in The Express Tribune, August 7th, 2011.
The two met at the abandoned house to commit collective suicide. But as the girl backed out of the plan, the boy insisted that she shoot him, police said. During the frenzy, the gun accidentally went off, fatally wounding the 20-year-old Obaid*, according to the Nilore police.
Police said Obaid and the 18-year-old Hina* wanted to get married, but the boy’s mother opposed their decision despite their repeated efforts to convince her. The young couple, in retaliation, decided to commit suicide.
The two met at an abandoned house belonging to the boy’s family in Chirah village, Dhok Mori. The plan was that the girl will first shoot the boy with a pistol, and then she will shoot herself. However, when the two decided to carry out the plan, the girl “went cold feet”, police said.
The boy, however, remained persistent and put the gun on his chest, asking her to pull the trigger. In the frenzy, the gun went off, fatally injuring Obaid, according to the police.
The girl was taken into custody by the women police station. Following the incident the boy’s family gathered around the girl’s house and fired warning shots, accusing the girl of murdering the boy and demanding her life in return, police said.
A police official said that when they arrested the girl, she was “in a state of shock” and had confined herself in a room. People acquainted with the couple and the family confirmed that the two were “in love and wanted to marry”, he added.
The boy’s body has been shifted to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences hospital for autopsy, while the murder weapon has been recovered from the crime site. *Names have been changed
Published in The Express Tribune, August 7th, 2011.