LAHORE: A man shot dead his maternal aunt and her daughter in Hunjarwal on Sunday after she had remarried outside her caste.

The gory incident once again brings to light the mindset which refuses to dump vicious net of caste, creed and honour. The crime history of the provincial metropolis reveals incidents where women fall victim to their family wrath in the name of honour.

Sumaira Bibi, 35, became victim of a wanton desire to restore ‘honour’. The accused, who was her nephew, believed she had dented the family honour by marrying outside the caste, which could only be restored by eliminating her.

Accused Zaigham Abbas killed Sumaira and her nine-year-old daughter in her one-room house at Muridwal — a slump area in Hunjarwal. Sumaira married Ashraf, a resident of Sanda, and had four children – two sons and two daughters. Ashraf was murdered almost six years ago. Later, she came to the house of her parents and started working in a local garments factory situated on Multan road to support her family.

She allegedly developed relations with Javed at her workplace. Sumaira and Javed, a father of two, decided to contract a love marriage. Accused Zaigham, a resident of Shadipura, Mughalpura, and son of Sumaira’s elder sister Sakina, became enraged when he heard about his aunt’s marriage with a man belonging to another caste. He threatened her with dire consequences, but she did not pay any heed to his threats.

She took her brothers into confidence, married on July 7, 2007, and started living in a dingy one-room house in Muridwal. The accused had nurtured a grudge against his aunt and started seeking an opportunity to restore the family ‘honour’ damaged by his aunt.

On Sunday, the accused, carrying a 30-bore pistol, reached the house of the victim in early hours. The two-room house was shared by two families, as one room was in the use of an old couple and the other was in the possession of the newly-wed couple. The entry to the house was through a common door, which was opened by the old couple after repeated knocks. The accused entered the premises and knocked on the door of Sumaira’s room.

As Sumaira opened the door, the accused whipped out his pistol and fired two shots. She received two wounds – one in the face and the other in the chest. Her daughter Saba rushed towards her mother after hearing the gunshots. He also fired at her in the chest.

The accused, however, did not harm Javed who was also present there. He accomplished the task within seconds and fled. Sumaira died instantly while Saba succumbed to her wounds in a local hospital. When contacted, a police officer associated with the investigation, said the accused had fired the third shot at Sumaira, but Saba was accidentally hit.

The Hunjarwal police have registered a case and moved the bodies to a morgue for autopsy. However, the police failed to arrest the accused till the filing of the report.
Source: The News
Date:7/16/2007