Woman, lover arrested for killing three children

Police say children were slain after accused planned to escape and remarry

GUJRAT:

A woman, allegedly driven by an illicit relationship formed through social media, has been arrested for killing her three children with the help of her lover to clear the way for marriage in Gujrat.

Police said the incident occurred in the jurisdiction of Sarai Alamgir tehsil.

Rizwan Iqbal, a motorcycle mechanic from the village of Barand, reported that his wife, Sidra Bashir, had been in contact with a man via phone.

On December 19, 2025, she left home with their three children—two-year-old Muhammad Zakaria, four-year-old Hiram Fatima, and seven-year-old Fajar Fatima—claiming she was going to Sarai Alamgir to buy groceries, but never returned.

After two days of unsuccessful searches, police registered a case under Section 496-A PPC against an unknown suspect.

Initial recovery efforts failed, prompting the DPO Gujrat to reassign the investigation to SHO Aftab Chauhan on December 27, who formed a new team and reviewed the case afresh.

During the investigation, a cousin of the complainant revealed that Sidra had forcibly taken the children on a motorcycle with an unidentified man, despite the children resisting.

Call data records later showed that Sidra had developed a relationship on TikTok with 27-year-old Babar, a resident of Azad Kashmir.

Police arrested Babar after a raid. Although he initially used delaying tactics, Sidra was eventually recovered on his identification.

Her inconsistent statements about the children's whereabouts raised further suspicion.

Under sustained interrogation, Sidra broke down and confessed that she and Babar had strangled the children after drugging them.

She admitted that the children were killed because Babar refused to accept them and she could not return home.

The accused further confessed that the bodies were burned with petrol to destroy evidence and later buried in sand near a stream in the Kutch Natar area of Azad Kashmir.

The police recovered the bodies on the accused's identification and handed them over to the devastated father after post-mortem.

Police officials confirmed that both suspects are in custody and will be tried for triple murder.