Betrayal, unrequited love drives man to slaughter four of a family

“First I hit her with an iron rod” says 27-year-old Iftikhar alias Badshah at the police station.

KARACHI: The Boat Basin police have arrested a man identified as Iftikhar on charges of killing the woman he loved, Mariyum, along with her family.

“I did not kill her at once,” said the 27-year-old Iftikhar alias Badshah at the police station. “First I hit her with an iron rod.”

Iftikhar was arrested for the murders of Khalid, Aneela and their children, Danish and Maryium. Their bodies were found in the A/3 flat of the Chapal Luxury Apartments block 5, Clifton on September 8.

“We assigned the job of solving the case to one of our senior investigating officers, Mubeen,” Athar Rasheed Butt, SSP Investigation South Zone-I said at a press conference at Boat Basin police station on Wednesday. He said the police had suspected the involvement of Badshah in the case from day one.

Iftikhar coolly recounted the crime. “I have satisfied my inner conscience,” he said. “I’m happier ... [now],” claimed the six-foot-tall, thinly bearded man.

Iftikhar was seven years old when he ran away from his home in Lahore and came to Karachi. He found work as a conductor with a truck driver and then started working as a labourer. He was 18 when he started working at the JK hotel in Gulistan-e-Jauhar, which is where he met Aneela and her family.

“They had rented a flat in the upper part of the building where the hotel was located and Aneela and her daughter would regularly visit the hotel,” claimed Iftikhar in a toneless voice.

A year after he got to know the family, Iftikhar said Aneela told him that he was like a son to her and even referred to him as her “muun bola beta”. He became a frequent visitor to the family’s apartment.

Profile of the family

Aneela was the wife of Khalid Haroon. They had three daughters and one son, Danish. Two of the daughters were married and living in their own homes while Mariyum and Danish were living with the parents. The family hailed from Faisalabad. Khalid Haroon, according to the police, used to work as a broker in the vegetable market.

Motive

Iftikhar soon became a part of the family. “Aneela promised that she would marry her daughter to me and would help start a business for me,” Iftikhar claimed.

After some time the family started asking him for money, he said. “I gave them whatever savings I had. They would find me one job or the other and then take away my salary, saying they were saving it for my bright future,” he claimed.

However, six months ago the family reportedly told him that they would not allow the marriage  and asked him to leave their flat. “I had lost all my savings and was in love with their daughter by then. I begged them not to do this,” he said.

He demanded his money back but they refused. He said he then left the flat and broke contact with the family. But after a few months he got in touch with them again and pleaded for a truce. According to him, this was a strategy to get back in their good books so that he could take his revenge.

The day of the murder

In Iftikhar’s words, he entered the flat with Danish at around 1 am and when Danish and the family fell asleep, he took out an iron rod he had hidden in the apartment earlier on.

He attacked Mariyum first and when her mother woke up, he killed her. He killed Khalid last and then escaped with a few valuables. The police found the bodies 18 hours after the murder.

“He was so close to the family but he did not show up at the funeral,” Investigation Officer Muhammad Mubeen said. This was their first clue that Iftikhar could be involved.

The police started following him and on Wednesday they went to his house. “He was ready when we got to his place. He laughed and said, ‘I know why you are here. Let’s go to jail’,” said Inspector Mubeen.

Why did the murderer not try to escape in the two weeks he had? “Why would I escape? I have no purpose anymore. I am happy and satisfied after killing them,” said Iftikhar. “They ruined my life and I ruined them. Now it is up to the judiciary to give whatever punishment they want to give me.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 23^rd, 2010.