Heinous crime: Four women of a household burned alive

Residents of the village found Manzoor trying to save his children.

MULTAN:

Three daughters and the wife of a peasant were burned alive in Bahawalnagar on Saturday. The victims have been taken to Nishtar Hospital’s burn unit in “extremely critical condition”.

Police said the incident took place early in the morning. Residents of Mansab Ali, Bahawalangar, reported hearing cries of help from the house of a peasant, Manzoor. They said they found Manzoor trying to save his family members who had been doused with petrol and set alight.



Manzoor told police that he had been sleeping in one room with four of his children while his wife was in another room with three of his daughters.

He said he had woken up to his wife’s and daughters’ cries for help. He said the smell of petrol was everywhere.

Residents of the village helped Manzoor take his wife Rani Bibi, 44, and their daughters Mairaj, 7, Shaista, 14, and Samina, 16, to Bahawalnagar district headquarters hospital.

Medical Superintendent Dr Fayyaz said, “We immediately sent them to Nishtar Hospital’s burn unit. They had suffered more than 80 per cent burns and have very little chances of survival.”

Donga Bonga SHO Abdur Razzaq Shakir told The Express Tribune that the victim’s relatives had identified three possible suspects. He said the case had earlier been registered against unidentified people but it now appeared that a family feud may have been behind the crime. He said they had taken Muneera Bibi, Tariq and Rasheed into custody and were interrogating them.

“We will hopefully uncover the matter within 24 hours. He said the people arrested had had a dispute with Manzoor’s family over a marriage proposal.”

Published in The Express Tribune, March 17^th, 2014.