Cops trying to probe parents’ role in woman’s murder
Shariq Majeed
Tribune News Service

Rajouri, May 26
The police is trying to ascertain the alleged role played by the parents of a woman in her murder.

Police sources said Zaheeda Begum was allegedly killed by her husband, Muhammad Pazeer, for not bearing him a male child. Besides, her parents allegedly concealed the information about her murder from the police.

Zaheeda, a mother of three daughters, was killed by Muhammad of Kablan village. Sources said Zaheeda and Muhammad had several differences between them over the former’s inability to deliver a male child. Muhammad’s craving for a male child was so extreme that he developed illicit relations with Zaheeda’s sister and was on the verge of marrying her. The move was objected by Zaheeda and differences cropped up between them.

Sources further said the couple had an altercation on April 21 and Muhammad attempted to strangulate Zaheeda. He smashed a marble rod into her head and inflicted multiple injuries on her body. Before Zaheeda fell unconscious, she managed to raise an alarm, following which Muhammad took her to the district hospital. Later, Zaheeda died at the hospital.

The next day, while Zaheeda was being taken to be buried, an elderly woman Risam Begum witnessed injury marks on her body. She informed Zaheeda’s uncle Muhammad Jabeer about the injury marks, who along with other relatives sought to register an FIR with the Thanamandi police, but the latter allegedly refused to do so.

It was only after a minister’s intervention that the police registered a case and arrested Muhammad who confessed to have committed the crime.

Police sources further said the police also approached the District Magistrate seeking permission for exhuming Zaheeda’s body who gave the requisite permission. Her body was exhumed on May 16 and a postmortem was conducted later.

The police arrested Muhammad for killing his wife and registered a case under Section 302. It also recovered the marble rod by which Zaheeda was done to death. A senior police official said Zaheeda’s parents were reportedly aware of the differences between their daughter and son-in-law and were ready to marry off their other daughter to him.

“They were reportedly aware of their daughter being murdered by their son-in-law and allegedly concealed the facts,” he added.

Rajesh Kumar, SSP, Rajouri, said, “We are probing the involvement of people who helped Muhammad in the crime”.