MULTAN: More than a month after 20-year-old Syeda Sania Zehra – a pregnant mother of two – was found dead in Multan, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari on Monday said her death was a case of murder and not suicide.
Zehra died on July 9 after she was found hanging from a ceiling fan in her residence.
Addressing a journalist in Lahore today, the provincial information minister said, “No evidence of suicide has been found in Sania Zehra’s case. The mother-in-law and the husband put a noose together around the girl’s neck.”
The minister disclosed this two days after the Punjab government constituted a six-member committee to oversee the investigation into the murder case. The commission, comprising forensic experts, was formed after discrepancies were found in the contents of the FIR and the post-mortem report of the victim, adding to the controversy.
The committee was tasked with monitoring the investigation on a daily basis.
In a press conference chaired by Women Protection Authority chairperson Hina Pervaiz Butt, the minister said the wounds on the girl’s shoulder and neck were not caused by a noose.
Bokhari, who mentioned that she is a criminal lawyer herself, said that a case of murder can already be faked as a suicide.
“The forensic laboratory is following such cases. Criminal investigators have found evidence against Sana’s mother-in-law and husband,” the minister said.
Bokhari insisted that the suspect was trying very hard to escape and there was huge pressure on the case.
“Now, no license will be granted by hiding a crime after killing women,” she added.
Butt also supported Bokhari’s statement, saying she knew it was not a case of suicide after seeing photos of the crime scene.
“Evidence later showed that the girl was murdered and hanged. The mother-in-law and husband tested positive on a lie detector,” she added.
Tests, investigations do not show suicide
Meanwhile, the central police officer overseeing the case said the Punjab Forensic Science Agency has also submitted all its test reports and said forensic experts have found no evidence of suicide.
“All tests and investigations show that it is not a suicide. Sania Zehra was killed on July 9 and her [murder] was presented as a suicide,” he said.
According to the court report, Zehra’s neck was not swollen or elongated due to the noose.
“The DNA of Sania’s husband and mother-in-law matched the dupatta used as a noose,” he added.
According to the report, the noose around Zehra’s neck did not cause her death and that the scar on her neck and shoulder was not caused by the dupatta.
“The DNA of the sample recovered from Sania’s nail also matched that of her husband,” it said.
