Mystery of old man’s ‘disappearance’ resolved

Police say son-in-law of victim killed him and lodged a bogus case of kidnapping

OKARA:

A kidnapping case registered with Gogira Police Station over a year ago appears to have been solved.

What police claim to have found is that the people who had approached police to find their 70-year-old relative who they claimed to have been kidnapped were actually the murderer of the victim and trying to hoodwink the police to hide their crime.

The prime suspect, police said, was the man’s son-in-law who killed the old man so that his wife could inherit his property and then he ultimately became the owner of the property.

The SHO of Gogira Police Station, Malik Tariq Javed Awan, told The Express Tribune that Halima Bibi, a resident of Gogira, had filed a case of kidnapping of her father, Sakhi Muhammad, with the Gogira Police Station 14 months ago against accused Sharjeel, Ghulam Abbas and Asad and alleged that the accused kidnapped his father on his way home from the mosque, and it was suspected that he had been killed.

However, the police interrogated the accused from every angle, and nothing could be found against them, he said.

Meanwhile, Halima Bibi filed a writ petition against the disappearance of her father and the failure of the police to trace him.

The High Court had sought a reply from the Okara police.

The newly-appointed DPO, Hassan Iqbal, took stern notice of the matter and directed SHO Malik Tariq Javed Awan to complete the case of disappearance of Sakhi Muhammad and submit a detailed report on which Malik Tariq Javed Awan again interrogated the accused, but the police could not find any clue.

Meanwhile, SHO Malik Tariq Javed Awan interrogated Halima's husband, Arif, on suspicion. The strategy worked, and Arif, the son-in-law of Sakhi, allegedly confessed to the crime before the local police.

The suspect allegedly told the police that he had planned to get the four-and-a-half acres of land that his father-in-law had owned.

Meanwhile, the police arrested Arif and presented his statement before the area magistrate.

In April this year, three armed men allegedly killed their sister while injuring their brother-in-law and three nephews over a property dispute in Khurrianwala. Safia Bibi, wife of Amjad, had demanded her share in the property from her brothers, Fakhar, Faryad and Imran.

The suspects entered into their sister’s house and opened fire, injuring Safia, their brother-in-law Amjad, and nephews Bilawal, Mehran and Bilal.

The injured were shifted to the hospital where Safia died of her injuries.

Police reached the spot, and after completing legal formalities handed Safia’s body to Bilal Amjad, son of the deceased, on whose complaint the police registered a case and started conducting raids to find the culprits.

In June last year, a man allegedly stabbed his 70-year-old grandfather and four-year-old cousin to death and injured his grandmother, aunt and a two-year-old cousin over a property dispute in Khushab.

Muhammad Adnan, the main suspect, was arrested by Nowshera police and a case was registered against him under Sections 109 and 302.

Hafeezur Rehman, son of slain Nawazul Haq, filed a complaint stating that his uncle Abdul Hafeez had informed him that his nephew Adnan had come to his house at 8pm. He said that he had come from Rawalpindi and had to rest.

“As soon as he entered the house, he started stabbing my father Nawazul Haq. When my mother Malikani Bibi and wife Ghulam Raqiyah went to rescue my father, the suspect also injured them. Adnan also stabbed and injured my young daughters Maryam Alvi and Shifa Alvi, one after the other,” the complainant stated.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 21^st, 2022.