First wife sets second on fire

PHALIA: A woman set her husband’s second wife on fire, killing her, with the help of her in-laws on Saturday.

Farhat, a Phalia Mohalla Mehman, resident married Qalbe Abbas, a resident of Mandi Bahauddin Sat Sara, four months ago without knowing that Abbas was already married. “We never knew that he was married before and neither did my daughter,” said Farhat’s father Ali, adding that his daughter and Abbas shifted to a small house in Phalia a few months ago. “She told us that he travelled back and forth a lot for his work. In reality he was living with his family in the city and used to come stay with Farhat twice a week,” her father told reporters.

On Saturday, Abbas took Farhat to meet his first wife Rukhsana and his parents Ghulam Abbas and Zahida Bibi. Neither of the women knew that he had another wife and Farhat’s father Ali told the police that Farhat had had no idea where he was taking her.

Locals said that the two women constantly fought and shouted at each other for three days after which their neighbours intervened on Friday afternoon. “We saw them all fighting in the street. It was clear that Rukhsana did not know about the second marriage and that Farhat was ignorant about the first marriage. Abbas’s parents placated us and told us they would resolve the matter in their home,” said Abbas’s neighbour Hadi Kamran. He added, “They told us that this was a family matter and that we should keep out of it.”

According to the police, Ghulam, Zahida and Rukhsana agreed to kill Farhat. When the police found the body she had already been burnt beyond recognition.

“They didn’t exactly hide what they did,” said station house officer (SHO) Muhammad Nawaz Sial, adding “Rukhsana boasted that she was the one who had poured oil all over Farhat while her in-laws held her down.”

“From what we have been told Abbas was no where on the scene but this is suspicious because no one has tried to implicate him, not even for his deception,” Sial added.

Police officials said that Farhat’s father Ali had filed a case against Ghulam, Zahida Bibi and Rukhsana.

“I was not there and when I heard about what was happening, I rushed back,” Abbas told a reporter on the phone.

He added that when he reached home Farhat was already dead.

Civil Lines police has registered a case against three people on the complaint of Farhat’s father, Ali.

“We are pursuing the investigation but we have not cleared Abbas yet given that everyone is suspiciously leaving him out of the entire proceedings and he has skipped town,” Sial said, adding that police officials were looking for Abbas after Farhat’s death on Saturday.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14^th, 2010.