Property issues: Five sisters jump into River Sutlej

Police said their father is accused of refusing to help them get married.

MULTAN:

Investigation into the case of five sisters who jumped into the River Sutlej has revealed that their father had apparently refused to get them married to keep the property in the family, police said.

One of the women was rescued. Rescuers are still looking for the bodies.

Police said Bashir Ahmed Punhwar, a landlord in Bahawalanagar, had settled in Cha Hambalwala, a rural area in Lodhran. They said he had inherited three acres and 30 cattle. Punhwar, they said, had seven daughters and a son.

Police quoted Muhammad Nadeem, an uncle of the deceased, said, girls who inherited property in their family were not married. He said Punhwar had said that he would marry his daughters to men who agreed to forgo their right to inheritance.



He said the five women, aged between 31 years and 45 years, had often argued with their father about their marriages. He said Punhwar often beat them.

He said Punhwar had recently engaged his son Allah Ditta to his sister’s daughter. A week ago, he said, he had also turned down a proposal for one of his daughters. He said after this, the relationship between Punhwar and his five elder daughters had deteriorated and arguments had become more frequent.

On Thursday morning, according to the family, the women left the house after Punhwar said that “he had never wanted so many daughters”.

They said they told the family members that they were going to visit an aunt in Chistian and bring her to Cha Hambalwala for Allah Ditta’s wedding.

They had boarded a van from Kehror Pakka, but got off at Mailsi in Siphon.

Witnesses said the women had jumped into the 40-foot canal together.  Some passers-by had jumped in, but could rescue only one of them.

Recue 1122 were called. They said search for the bodies was continuing.

DSP Malik Daud Husnain said the resuced woman had been sent to tehsil headquarters hospital, where she was said to be out of danger. Doctors treating her said that she was still unconscious.

Earlier, police said, Haji Zafar, another uncle of the women, had said that one of them had slipped into the canal. He said the others, too, fell in while trying to save their sister.

Some residents of the area, who visited the women’s house to condole their family, told The Express Tribune that Punhwar had told visitors “it was not a thing to mourn over.”

The DSP said that the family was not cooperating with the police. “The investigation will move forward after the [surviving] woman comes to,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 21^st, 2013.