‘Serial seducers’: Man killed by villagers for trying to ‘abduct’ woman

Villagers said Wattoo opened fire while fleeing after shooting girl.

FAISALABAD:

A group of villagers killed a young man who was trying to flee with a woman on Wednesday.

According to police officials, villagers in Chak No 101-JB attacked and killed Faisalabad resident Nawaz Wattoo for having ‘seduced’ a woman from their village and having killed her daughter. “He had previously killed a girl who had rejected him and had several affairs with women in neighbouring villages,” said a resident Ghulam Murtaza.

Eyewitnesses told police that a group of over 30 men shot at Wattoo as he was trying to flee the village with the wife of Yaqoob, Fauzia Bibi. “He was having an affair with Yaqoob’s wife and they both tried running away on Tuesday night when a group of villagers began shooting at them,” said Raheem Imtiaz. “He had just shot her daughter for refusing to go with them,” he added.

Police officials said that there were contradictory accounts of the event. “Fauzia’s family says that he was trying to abduct her and had also tried to kidnap her daughter but villagers and neighbours say that the whole thing was planned,” said investigation officer Adeel Khalid. “Fauzia had told me she was planning on running away with Wattoo and that his cousin was going to marry her daughter,” said neighbour Nadia Bibi. “She hated her husband and wanted to escape,” she added.

Police said that Fauzia was staying with her relative Ghulam Murtaza in Chak No.101-JB after having quarrelled with her husband. Wattoo allegedly broke into the house with two accomplices on Tuesday night and convinced Fauzia to leave with him. Murtaza told police that he raised alarm in the village when Fauzia’s 18-year-old daughter Nazia began screaming for help. “The men were trying to take her too but she resisted,” he said. “When she resisted he shot at her and killed her,” he added. “By this time even Fauzia was screaming for help and by the time we reached her he had been shot by one of the villagers,” Ghulam said. Village residents said that they were chasing the accused when he opened fire on them to make a quick get away. “That was when we opened fire and he was killed,” said Ghulam.

Nawaz died on the spot but his accomplices managed to make an escape and left Fauzia behind. “He was a murderer and had killed a young girl. He was a ‘serial seducer’ and there is no shame in killing such a man,” eyewitness Mubarak Khan told police.

Police officials have taken both bodies into custody and registered a case. The bodies have been sent to the DHQ Hospital for an autopsy.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 17^th, 2011.