RAWALPINDI – A three and half year old child was burnt alive when a man set ablaze his wife, mother and sister-in-law and her three kids after sprinkling petrol in Kohali village of Domaili allegedly to punish his wife for not obeying his order to return home, reliable sources disclosed to The Nation today.
The man locked the screaming family members encircled in flames in a room. The locals on hearing hue and cry reached the spot and rescued them.
Police have arrested the cruel man, who has been identified as Arshad Mehmood (35) a labourer by profession. “First Information Report (FIR) against him under sections 302/436 of PPC and 7 Anti Terrorism Act (ATA) was registered soon after he committed this inhuman crime. He is now under treatment in Rural Health Centre at Rajwal, Domaili, district Jhelum”, sources said.
The deceased child has been identified as Ahsan while other injured as Zahida Pervin (wife of Arshad), her mother Manzur Begum, sister Sidra Bibi and her (Sidra) kids Osama and Rania (ages between 4 to 5 year old). Ahsan was also son of Sidra, they added.
Police rushed the injured to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) but the doctors refused to provide medical treatment because of beds shortage. Later, the victims were moved to Holy Family Hospital (HFH) Surgical Emergency, where the doctors say the condition of Sidra is critical, a medical source said.
According to sources Arshad Mehmood of Dhoke Phaphra married Zahida Pervin, a resident of Kohali village, and the couple gave birth to three children. A few days ago, they said, a fight took place between the couple on which the lady left house of her husband and started living with her mother. They said that Arshad arrived at his in-laws and requested Zahida to return home along with children. However, the wife told her husband to go back home with children and she would come on a bus in the evening, sources said. In the meanwhile, Sidra Bibi, sister of Zahida, along with three small kids Ahsan, Osama and Rania also came in the house of her mother after hearing about fight between the couple.
“Near 7pm, when Zahida was with her family in a room, Arshad again came there and started quarrelling with wife for not returning home, they said adding that he doused his wife, mother in law Manzur Begum, sister in law Sidra and her three kids including three and half years old Ahsan with petrol and set them alight. The cruel man locked the room from outside while ignoring screams of the burning family members,” sources said.
A large number of people gathered on hearing noise the screams and rescued the victims. The victims were rushed to PIMS in ambulances of RHC but the doctors refused to provide treatment because of shortage of beds and referred the patients to HFH, where doctors started making efforts to save the lives of victims, they said. Ahsan succumbed to burn injuries at HFH. Condition of Sidra is critical, a doctor told The Nation.
Mir Afzal, a Moharar at Police Station Domaili, when contacted, said that Arshad also sustained burnt injuries on the face and hands and is under treatment at RHC, Domaili.
