Man slaughters two girls, hangs himself

Deceased cites unemployment, debt for act in suicide note

DIJKOT:

A man reportedly killed his two daughters by slitting their throats while they were sleeping before committing suicide in the Mehmoodabad area.

The deceased, Rana Atiqur Rehman, was reportedly desperate because of poverty and unable to pay his house rent.

A large number of villagers gathered at the spot after the news of the murders and suicide spread in the area.

Police officials inspected this crime scene and shifted the bodies to Allied Hospital for postmortem.

The murderer had written a note before committing suicide, stating that he had committed the act because of being unable to pay the rent and being fed up of his circumstances. He said his household items should be given to a welfare organisation.

Local people said the deceased had been living on rent in a five-marla house of Mohammad Usman in Mehmoodabad near Sargodha Road for 20 years.

Atiqur Rehman, aged 50, had been fired from his job in a private company one and a half years ago.

He killed his 17-year-old daughter Al Shaba and 11-year-old Zainab by slitting their throats with a knife while they were sleeping on Wednesday morning.

He was reportedly desperate because of unemployment and had to pay rent dues of Rs146,000.

He wrote on a paper with blood that he had killed his daughters with a knife. He had to pay the rent to the owner of the house, Usman, due to which he was very worried.

He was frustrated over not having a job after the death of his wife and having no place to live.

He wrote that the bodies should be handed over to Edhi Welfare Organisation without postmortem and buried in a mass grave. He also said his household goods should be given to the Edhi foundation.

Atiq hanged himself after writing the letter.

The incident was revealed when Noor Iman, visited the home of the victims. He informed the helpline 15.

Madina Town SP Muhammad Nabeel and other police officers collected evidence from the spot with the help of a forensics team.

A large number of people from nearby as well as other localities gathered at the spot after hearing about the incident.

The police shifted the bodies to the mortuary unit of Allied Hospital for postmortem.

According to neighbours, Atiq's 45-year-old wife Zarina had died six months ago due to lack of treatment for diabetes. He had failed to find a job despite trying for a long time. They said several power looms and textile mill units had been shut recently due to rising energy cost, leaving a number of people unemployed.

Sargodha Road Police Station SHO Hamad Yusuf told The Express Tribune that Rana Atiq belonged to Rabwah in Chiniot district and had lived in the house on for 20 years.

He could not pay the rent to the owner for several months and he had written in the suicide note on blood-stained paper that he had to pay Rs146,000.

Atiq's daughters worked at homes of people to bear the household expenses.

The police official said the owner of the house had repeatedly harassed the man.

Atiqur Rahman was dismissed from his job in a company during the coronavirus epidemic.

The police took the bodies into custody and shifted them to a hospital.

A case was registered against Atiq under Section 302 of the PPC.

According to local officials and activists, at least 15 people have committed suicide by various means ostensibly because of poverty during the ongoing year in Faisalabad district.

Commenting on the situation, Ghulam Mohammadabad Government General Hospital Head of Psychology Department Dr Nazia Tanveer said that when a person is unable to do anything despite all his efforts, he becomes a victim of severe mental stress and depression after being disappointed with the people around him or her. The society is to some extent responsible for the suicide of any person in addition to financial hardship.

The society should help the white-collar people to prevent such incidents, she added.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 11^th, 2022.