March 28, 2024
Staff Report
LAHORE
The video of a murder surfaced on social media on Thursday, where a man is being filmed while kneeling on the bed apparently suffocating his sister to death. Beside him is his father, and the video is being made by his brother. There is also a woman in the room ostensibly the mother.
The incident took place in Chak 477 JB Aluwal (Basti Odan village) of the Toba Tek Singh District.
DPO Khanpur, Ibadat Nisar, informed that the incident occurred between the March 17 and 18, 2024. The victim has been identified as 22 year old Maria.
Following the viral spread of the video on the social media, the police were quick to take action. On March 24, the police filed a first information report (FIR) under sections 302, 201, and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) against Faisal and Abdul Sattar, who were the brother and father of the deceased, respectively. Shahbaz, the second brother, has been missing since the incident.
According to the FIR, “Muhammad Faisal, accompanied by his father Abdul Sattar and an unidentified person, committed the heinous act of killing his sister Maria by suffocating and burying her body. Though some villagers were aware of the incident, they did not report it to the police.”
In the nearly three minute video, Faisal, clad in white shalwar kameez, is seen suffocating a woman with a pillow on a charpai (string bed). Abdul Sattar, dressed in yellow shalwar kameez, is continuously asking for there to be silence allowing the crime to happen uninterrupted while seated on another charpai in the same room.
Shahbaz, while filming the video, is heard pleading with Sattar to intervene, but his pleas go unanswered.
At the end of the video, Faisal turns away after committing the act, while Sattar offers him a bottle of water. In the background, Maria lies lifeless with her head tilted.
A local police official informed Voicepk that Shahbaz, the filming brother, sought to file a complaint in the FIR, but the police denied his request, fearing he might withdraw it later.
Toba Tek Singh police have confirmed the arrests of Faisal and Sattar, both of whom have been remanded to police custody. “The police are exploring various angles in the investigation; however, the accused have not disclosed the motive for Maria’s murder,” stated SHO Hassan to Voicepk.
Meanwhile DPO Ibadat Nisar has said that the police had exhumed Maria’s body and after conducting a postmortem examination have sent the key parts to forensics department. He said that the two suspects were being interrogated. He added that the video was also being carefully examined to be presented as physical evidence. “We will do our best to make an air tight case so there can be no issue later,” he said.
NCHR is in touch with police
Father and son have been arrested & FIR registered. NCHR will follow case to ensure justice is done and due process upheld. https://t.co/9qKx9JhsyS pic.twitter.com/ZQavXY8pCL
— National Commission for Human Rights (@nchrofficial) March 28, 2024
The National Commission for Human Rights also took note of the incident.