Starving kids’ mother ends her life

Neighbours pull two children out of flames in room

DIJKOT:

A woman who, along with her children, had been afflicted by extreme poverty and starvation, set herself and two of her children on fire, police said.

The woman later died at a hospital. Zubeda Bibi, who lived in a small village, had had no means of survival. She was broke and could not find food for her children who cried for food but there was nothing Zubeda Bibi could do, people who lived in the same village said.

The situation was so grave that it pushed Zubeda Bibi into the depth of desperation. Her desperation led her to the solution that only death could bring solace to her children and herself.

Zubeda Bibi decided to end it once and for all. On the day of the incident she confined her daughter and her seven-year-old son Naveed in a room where she started a fire to burn themselves to death. The starving children began yelling as they began to feel the ire of the flames.

The children began shouting for help at the top of their voice.

Fortunately, their plea for help was responded to by their neighbours who rushed in and barged into the room and safely pulled the children out of the room.

Zubeda’s daughter miraculously escaped unhurt, but Zubeda and her son were badly burnt.

They were rushed to a hospital where Naveed survived but his mother died of her injuries.

In August last year, a man had allegedly killed his daughters and then committed suicide.

Sargodha Road Police had registered a case under the provisions of double-murder against the man on the complaint filed by Sajjad Hussain Munshi, a brother of Rana Atiqur Rehman. As per the case FIR, the complainant told the police he was informed by phone by one Noorul Iman that his brother Rana Atiqur Rahman had killed his daughters, 17-year old Alishba and 11-year old Zainab, with knives and then hung himself to death.

When the brother of the deceased reached the spot, he saw Rana Atiqur Rahman hanging from a fan in the TV lounge of his rented house.

The complainant said he found his two nieces in separate beds in in another room with their bodies soaked in blood. The funeral prayers of the three were offered at the Shahi graveyard in Islamnagar.

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.

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. 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. 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.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 31^st, 2023.