Pir beats woman to death while ‘saving her from demons’

City Police Officer Dr Haidar Ashraf says pir proceeded to tie up Zeenat Bibi with ropes and beat her with a stick.

FAISALABAD:

A woman was beaten to death on Tuesday by a ‘pir’ who claimed to be exorcising the “demons tormenting her”.

City Police Officer Dr Haidar Ashraf took notice of the incident on Wednesday and constituted a committee to arrest Afzal within 48 hours. Dr Ashraf directed the D-Type Colony SHO to complete investigation quickly so that the accused could be brought to justice without delay.

Her nephew, who had referred her to the pir, had been taken into custody, D-Type Colony police said. Ashraf, a relative of the woman, said Zeenat Bibi,24, a resident of Lahore, had been suffering from a chronic ailment for a long time. He said her family had taken her to many doctors but her condition had not improved. He said her nephew, Shahbaz, took her to Pir Afzal in Murad Colony, Street 6.

Ashraf said the pir told Shahbaz that Zeenat Bibi was being tormented by demons and that he would have to exorcise her to “save her soul”.

He said Pir Afzal proceeded to tie up Zeenat Bibi with ropes and beat her with a stick. He said Shahbaz was present in the same room. “When Zeenat Bibi started screaming in pain, Shahbaz tried to stop him but the pir told him that the blows were not hurting her.”

Zeenat Bibi fainted from the severity of blows soon after and all efforts to revive her were unsuccessful. He said after some time Pir Afzal told Shahbaz to take her to a hospital for treatment.

Shahbaz took her to the hospital where she succumbed to her injuries, Ashraf said.

D-Type Colony SHO Mehr Riaz said they had registered a case against the pir and taken Shahbaz into custody. He said Shahbaz would be questioned and would be part of the investigation. He said they were looking for Pir Afzal but he had so far evaded arrest.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 3^rd, 2014.