Caught at last: Two arrested for murder 25 years ago

They were recognized by a student of the deceased.

BAHAWALPUR:

Twenty-five years after Sister Su, was killed for resisting robbers, her killers have been identified. Sister Su, an American citizen, had been the principal of Saint Dominic Convent School.

The suspects, arrested on Tuesday, were picked by a student of the deceased on Thursday in an identification parade.

Police said the two men had stopped Sister Su and her two students Nusrat Louis and Gulzar Nasreen on August 11, 1988, near Aqib Gulzar Sadiq Church in Model Town. The men had tried to snatch Sister Su’s handbag. When she resisted, they shot her and fled. Sister Su died before she could be taken to a hospital.

The two students had told the police that they and Sister Su were on their way to the school hostel after having tea at a nearby cafe when the incident occurred.

The then United States ambassador to Pakistan Arnold Raphel had visited Bahawalpur after the killing and local Christians had protested against the incident. The protests had continued for a while. The Crimes Investigation Agency had also initiated an inquiry, but the killers were not traced.

On Tuesday, police said, they arrested Aashiq Sangeen on robbery charges and traced his involvement in Sister Su’s murder. ASP Zeeshan Siddiqi and his team then raided a house and arrested Sangeen’s accomplice Murtazi the same day.

They were presented before Magistrate Jam Faiz on Wednesday and were handed over to the police for four days after police said the men needed to be questioned and identified.

The two men, police said, were recognised by Nusrat Louis on Thursday in an identification parade. Police said they later confessed to killing Sister Su. They will now be presented in a court on Monday, the police said.

ASP Siddiqi said the American consulate would be sent its report once the inquiry was completed.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 28^th, 2013.