Woman allegedly sets two children on fire in Mangamandi

Suspect reportedly had troubled married life

LAHORE:

In a tragic incident in Mangamandi, a mother reportedly killed her two minor children by setting them on fire.

Police said the suspect, identified as Tanzeela Bibi, had been living with her husband Waqas in Asad Allah Kot village near Kalalan Wala Khooh Mangamandi. They had three children, two of them identified as Abdul Rehman, 3 and Faizan, 4 from their wedlock.

The couple had a very strained marital relationship, the police quoted the neighbours as saying. A relative of the couple, Waseem Ahmad, told the media that the couple would often quarrel with each other over petty issues.

The suspect Tanzeela would often leave for her parents’ house after a dispute with her husband. Six months back, they had a serious dispute after which Waqas also attempted to murder his parents.

The suspect had repeatedly expressed her intensions that she would kill the children.

On Monday, she had a dispute with her husband once again. She went out of her house while the children were at home.

When she returned, she made a hue and cry that a fire erupted inside her house and her children were trapped inside.

Rescue 1122 was called. The teams reached and launched the operation. As they reached, the victim children had already died.

A police team also reached the spot on information and shifted the bodies to the morgue for autopsy. During initial investigations, police found the case a bit suspicious. They took the couple into custody.

A police source shared with The Express Tribune that the woman had murdered her children. Circumstantial evidence suggested that the suspect might have used gas leakage from the cylinder to ignite the fire. However, police were investigating the matter further.

Mangamandi SHO Javed Iqbal told The Express Tribune that they were registering an FIR. However, Raiwind Circle ASP Haseeb Javaid said the matter was under investigations. Police needed some time to ascertain a few facts. He assured to share the facts after initial investigations.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 23^rd, 2021.