November 15, 2024
By Xari Jalil
LAHORE
In a chilling case of domestic violence, a woman, aided by her daughter and other relatives, murdered her pregnant daughter-in-law (also her niece), chopping her body into pieces, and disposing of it in a local drain.
The harrowing incident occurred in Motra area under the jurisdiction of the Daska police station. The victim, Zara Bibi, 30, was the daughter of Shabbir Ahmed, a police officer (ASI) residing in Gujranwala. Zara had been married for six years to Qadeer Ahmed of Kotli Merlan and had recently returned from Saudi Arabia, where her husband currently works. The couple has a two-and-a-half-year-old son, Muhammad Shafay.
Reports indicate that Zara, 30, faced frequent conflicts with her mother-in-law and sister-in-law. Her father Shabbir Ahmed later also informed the police that Zara’s mother-in-law and her sister-in-law used to torture his daughter.
He told the police that he started to become worried after he had been calling his daughter since the last two days, and found that her mobile phone was switched off, so he decided to visit her at her in-laws’ home in village Kotli Meeran. But when he reached there he found that she was not at home, while her in-laws expressed ignorance of her whereabouts. When he saw her young son still at the house, he became immensely worried and went to file a missing person’s complaint at the Motra police station.
Upon his request, the Motra police registered an FIR against Yasmin Bashir, Sughran Naseer, Saba Jameel, Qasim Jameel, and Sughra’s grandson Abdullah.
After District Police Officer (DPO) Rana Umar Farooq directed action, a team was formed led by SDPO Abid Rasheed to investigate the situation, during which the police received information that a body was found in a sewage drain. The body was identified as Zara’s. The accused had dismembered her and sealed parts of her body in a gunny bag and threw it into the drain.
Murder!
The police eventually apprehended the suspects who during interrogation, confessed to the crime. They revealed that they had been plotting Zara’s murder for several days and had also enlisted the help of a relative named Naveed, from Lahore.
The investigation revealed that Zara had married her cousin Qadeer four years ago. Zara was taken to Saudi Arabia by Qadeer after they were married. About two and a half years ago, their son was born. Afterwards Qadeer began transferring all of his earnings into Zara’s account, and disagreements developed between Zara and her mother-in-law.
Initially, Sughran accused Zara of misbehaviour in an effort to obtain a divorce. After failing, she and her daughter Yasmeen planned the murder. Sughran and Yasmeen promised to send Naveed to Italy in exchange for his assistance when Zara returned to Pakistan a month and a half ago.
According to details provided by Abdullah, Naveed had entered the house through way of the roof and with the assistance of the two women smothered her with a pillow.
Afterwards the mother-in-law, Sughra Bibi and her daughter Yasmeen dismembered the body, and packed the hacked off pieces in bags. They not only severed her limbs, but also burned her head to prevent identification. At night, Sughra transported the remains in bags to a canal, spreading rumors that Zara had eloped with a lover. The remains were divided into three plastic bags and discarded in various locations in a drain.
Police, forensic experts, and rescue teams had to work for over 24 hours before ultimately recovering the body parts from three separate sites. The police later amended the case to include provisions for murder.
Speaking to the media DPO Rana Umar Farooq said that the police had not left behind any evidence in the case file that would ensure the culprits would be punished.