Alleged domestic abuse: Govt employee ‘beaten to death by officer’s family’

Chaudhry Abdul Sabur was accused of stealing cash and jewellry.

MUZAFFARABAD: A 30-year-old employee of the Works and Communication Department of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) was allegedly beaten to death on Sunday by an officer’s family who accused him of stealing Rs2 million and jewellry, sources told The Express Tribune.

Chaudhry Abdul Sabur, a resident of Jahandgran Payeen, Jhelum Valley, had been working at the home of former engineer Masood Qadri for the last 16 years in Chattar Muzaffarabad and Islamabad. On Sunday, Sabur was rushed by his employers to the Abbas Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS) in a critical condition. However, he died en route.



The body was shifted to the Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan Hospital where doctors carried out an autopsy, revealing evidence of torture on Sabur’s mouth and waist, sources told The Express Tribune. The cause of death will be determined following a detailed postmortem report. The body has been handed over to the victim’s family who brought it to Muzaffarabad’s Central Press Club and blocked the Rawalpindi road for half an hour as they demanded the arrest of those involved in Sabur’s death.

Later, Minister for Roads and Works Azad Jammu and Kashmir Chaudhry Rashid arrived at the press club and negotiated with the protesters who ended their demonstration after they were assured of the arrest of those involved in the killing.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Sabur’s relatives accused his employer of torturing and beating him for the last 22 days. The employer’s brother, Mubashir Qadri, allegedly kept Sabur in isolation without food and warm clothes during winter after he was accused of theft, a relative said. He added that Sabur was only taken to AIMS after his health deteriorated over the last two days.

Sabur’s former employer was not available for a comment. However, a family member said they wished to settle the issue without involving the police and maintained that Sabur had stolen money and jewellry worth nearly Rs3 million from his employer’s residence in Islamabad.

On Sunday evening, AJK police arrested Mubashir Qadri and initiated an investigation into Sabur’s death.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 13^th, 2014.