Under investigation: Husband kills woman in alleged gun-cleaning accident

Victim’s family alleges it was murder, not manslaughter

MANSEHRA: A woman and two minor girls were killed on Saturday in two different incidents reported from Mansehra.

According to the police, a woman was killed under undisclosed circumstances in a village.

The police said Ashraf, a resident of Bherkund village who had been in Dubai for over a decade, was home on annual leave. On Saturday evening he got back home from the market and, according to his statement, he was cleaning his 30-bore pistol when it accidentally went off, killing his wife Naseema, 38.



However, Naseema’s parents accused Ashraf of purposefully opening fire on her as there was more than one bullet lodged in her head. The police have started investigating the matter.

Treacherous waters

In Naran, two minor girls drowned in Kunhar River. The police quoted eyewitnesses who said Kulsoom Bibi and her cousin Sumaira, both 6 years of age, were playing on the bank of Kunhar River when Kulsoom slipped into the river and swept away.

Sumaira attempted to rescue her but was also swept away by the strong current.

Later divers found the body of Sumaira but Kulsoom’s remains had not been recovered even a day after the incident.

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