Fatal friction: Man murdered ‘by friends’

Family were told he had died in a road accident.

BAHAWALPUR:

The family of a man killed on Monday allegedly by his friends over money protested against the police.

The family of the deceased, Muhammad Tariq, said that his friends, nominated in the FIR, had invited him to a wedding on Monday afternoon in the Musafirkhana area. They said a few hours later, his friend Nadeem Bhutta informed them that Tariq had had an accident on his way to the wedding and that he had succumbed to his injuries.

Tariq’s family said they rushed to the scene, but discovered that there were no injuries on Tariq’s body. They said there had been no accident, nor had his vehicle damaged. They said they suspected his friends of killing him and took the body to the Musafirkhana police station, where they registered an FIR against Bhutta, Khadim Hussain and Madni.

They said the police told them to take the body to Samma Satta Hospital and told them that they, too, would be there in a while. The family said they kept waiting for the police, but no one arrived. They said they called the police station, but no one responded.

They then took the body to the Musafirkhana bus stand, where they placed it on the LP Road and staged a sit-in. They shouted slogans against the police for not taking the complaint seriously.

Saddar DSP Raja Ghulam Abbas at the scene and asked the protesters to stop, but they refused to listen to him. They said they would not move until Tariq’s murderers were arrested. They also demanded that negligent policemen at the Musafirkhana police station be suspended from service.

Later, MNA Mian Najeebuddin Owaisi visited the scene and negotiated with the protesters. He assured them that the suspects would be arrested soon and negligent policemen would be punished. The protesters dispersed after receiving the reassurance.

The DSP said that the suspects were missing. He said initial investigation had revealed that Tariq had a dispute over money with the suspects.

Man confesses to killing wife

Also on Monday, a woman was killed allegedly by her husband. Police said he had cut her throat. They said he had confessed to the crime and turned himself in.

Police said Khalida Parveen, a resident of Chak-13 near Hasilpur and a mother of four, had had an argument with her husband Muhammad Anwar before she left to pick cotton from a nearby field. They said Anwar sent one of his children to the field to ask her to return home. When she did, he slit her throat. She died on the spot.

He then went to Saddar police station and turned himself in. Police said he also turned in the knife he had killed his wife with.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 29^th, 2013.