Police in Balakot have arrested a man accused of killing his wife by stoning her and attempting to make the death appear to have resulted from a mountain fall.
According to Saddaqat Khan, station house officer (SHO) of Kaghan Police Station, suspect Rustam Dilpazir was arrested on Sunday in the Ghanool valley area of Balakot tehsil following the death of his wife in Manoor valley on August 12.
Khan said Dilpazir had taken his wife to a mountainous area on the pretext of a recreational trip, where he allegedly attacked her with stones.
After she died from the injuries, he allegedly threw her body into a deep ditch to make the incident appear accidental, the officer said.
Police initially suspected foul play rather than an accidental death after examining the circumstances at the scene, Khan confirmed.
He added that the accused had married the woman about 10 months earlier after she eloped with him.
Police later traced and arrested him after he allegedly carried out the burial immediately after the incident in an attempt to conceal the killing, Khan said.
The victim’s brother, Safeer Ahmad, alleged in a first information report, that his sister had married Dilpazir willingly despite opposition from the family.
Ahmad further alleged that Dilpazir had recently contracted a second marriage with his former fiancée and killed his sister to get rid of her before disposing of her body in the ditch.
Police have stated that the man was produced before a court in Balakot after his arrest.
The court sent him on judicial remand after he allegedly confessed to the killing.
