While there are myriad horror stories associated with the trend of phone 'friendships' - some true, some not; some factual, others exaggerated, - the story of 17-year-old Asma is no urban legend.
Three years ago, Asma left her house in Punjab to elope with her 27-year-old boyfriend, who she had never met - but just spoken to over the phone. She trusted her tele-boyfriend, Abdul Rahman, more than her family and decided to elope to Karachi from Dera Ghazi Khan upon his insistence. However, Abdul Rahman had other plans.
She could never have imagined that the man who talked to her for hours and promised to sacrifice his life for her would end up being her murderer.
When she finally arrived in Karachi, instead of marrying her, Abdul Rahman and his friend raped her - continuously. Later, when they had had their fun, Rahman killed her and buried the body inside a house in Abbas Town katchi abadi.
This incident took place in 2007 and Abdul Rahman has resumed his normal life. No one found out what happened in the three-room house located beside the main ground of Abbas Town - her story muted by the din of the concrete jungle.
Even Abdul Rahman forgot - until Monday night. He and his accomplice, Shahid Hasan, were arrested by Zaman Town police for their involvement in street crimes.
The police recovered two pistols and bullets from their possession and were conducting an inquiry in custody when Abdul Rahman blurted the truth.
"He revealed during investigations that he had killed a girl three years ago and had buried the body in the room of the house where they stayed," said Special Investigation Officer Zaman Town Arif Usman.
Abdul Rahman said that he became friends with Asma over the phone and after some time convinced her to elope to Karachi so they could get married, Usman said, adding that Asma took a train to Karachi where Abdul Rahman greeted her at the station.
In order to keep their friendship hidden from the family and the police, Abdul Rahman rented her a house in a katchi ababi of Abbas Town, where he kept her for two weeks. This was the time when Abdul Rahman and his friend, Hasan, raped her several times.
"She insisted on getting married but I did not want to marry her," Abdul Rahman told police officials, "The night I killed her she had threatened me that she would go to the police station if I didn't marry her."
Narrating their love story, Abdul Rahman said that Asma dialled a wrong number one day and came across him. He started pursuing her since then and they ultimately became friends. "I told her that I was in love and wanted to marry her but she knew her family would not let it happen," Abdul Rahman claimed, "Asma was madly in love with me so she eloped."
After Abdul Rahman's confession, a special team of the police and the judiciary decided to visit the rented house to confirm his story. The team included DDO Bin Qasim Town Haider Chandio, a first-class magistrate and other police officials.
The house is located in a narrow street of the neighbourhood and most of its residents earn a living by working at factories or as wage labourers. It is inhabited by people belonging to various communities and ethnicities.
The police officials said that they found the body buried in the middle room of the three-room house. None of the rooms had cemented flooring, they added.
The investigation officer said that the body was recovered by the team after the culprits identified the house, the room and exact location of where they had buried the body. Asma's body was wrapped in coloured clothes in a ditch that was almost six feet deep, said police officials.
The accused have been handed over to the Shah Latif Town police and an FIR under section 302 has been lodged against them.
DDO Chandio condemned the act and assured that the criminals will be punished according to the law.
He added that the police have been unable to locate Asma's family, but they have informed the Dera Ghazi Khan police, who have started looking for them.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 1st, 2010.
COMMENTS (6)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ