On Sunday, Sialkot police detained a woman and her associates on suspicion of witchcraft for the alleged murder of her pregnant daughter-in-law.
In tehsil Daska of district Sialkot on Tuesday, Zara Bibi, 30, was allegedly murdered by her mother-in-law and sister-in-law following a domestic argument earlier this week.
After being dismembered, the victim’s body was placed in a sack and dumped down a drain.
The victim’s father, Shabbir Ahmed, informed the police that Zara had a two-year-old son with Qadir Ahmed, who lived in Kotli Meeran, tehsil Daska, four years prior.
Shabbir said that his daughter’s cell phone was off when he contacted her.
He went to meet his daughter at her in-laws’ house in Kotli Meeran, but she wasn’t there, and her in-laws said they didn’t know where she was.
Shabbir said that his daughter had been tortured by Zara’s mother-in-law and her sister-in-law.
The mother-in-law Sughran Bibi was one of five people against whom the Motra Tehsil Police Station had filed a first information report (FIR), according to Sialkot District Police Officer (DPO) spokesperson Malik Waqas Ahmed, who talked to Dawn.com.
Sialkot DPO Following Zara’s disappearance, Rana Umar Farooq assembled an investigative team under the direction of the Daska deputy superintendent of police (DSP). The spokesperson also stated that Abdullah, one of the suspects, had been arrested by police. Suspicion led to his inclusion in the FIR.
During the investigation, Abdullah admitted to killing Zara and his family members, according to Malik. He also added that after Abdullah identified them, police detained Sughran Bibi, her daughter Yasmin Bibi, and a relative named Mohammad Naveed.
The four suspects admitted to the crime, the spokeswoman continued.
“Sughran Bibi claimed that her daughter-in-law used to practice magic during the police investigation,” Malik told Dawn.com. According to the suspect, Zara Bibi died from strangulation. To conceal it, the corpse was later dismembered and placed inside five sacks.
Malik went on to say that the murder weapon had been taken by the police and that the victim’s face was charred, making it impossible to identify her.
He further mentioned that Zara arrived in Pakistan fifteen days ago and that the couple lives overseas because of Qadir’s work. “I dropped Zara off at her in-laws in Kotli Meeran ten days ago,” he remarked.
Sughran Bibi and her daughter Yasmin Bibi, according to Shabir, were upset that Zara traveled overseas with her husband.
After learning of the murder, Qadir went back to Pakistan, according to Shabir Ahmad.
Police “will investigate the murder case from every angle,” according to DPO Rana Umar Farooq, who also stated that the inquiry is still ongoing.
