A 40-year-old security guard hacked a woman to death with an axe and set her body on fire in the Liaquat Colony area of Rawalpindi’s Dhamiyal over her refusal to marry him.
According to reports, the suspect, identified as Talib Hussain, is a resident of Kallar Syedan and works as a security guard at a private housing society.
The incident came to light after Constable Muhammad Naseem received report of a fire at a residence in Liaquat Colony at approximately 9:45 am on Friday. Upon arrival, the cop discovered the body of one Misbah Shahzad, and suspect Hussain was found in critical condition due to burn injuries.
Police investigation revealed that Hussain had been renting a room for one month in the house, which is owned by landlord Razia Parveen. He provided a confessional statement in front of Constable Naseem, Parveen and other local residents who gathered at the scene.
In his statement, he admitted to attacking Shahzad with a hatchet and subsequently pouring petrol over her body to set it on fire.
Hussain stated to the witnesses that he liked Shahzad, but he became suspicious of her befriending a man named Shoaib. He confessed to the police and local residents that jealousy drove him to take extreme measures after Shahzad refused his marriage proposal.
Official reports from the initial examination indicated that Shahzad sustained axe wounds to her head, face and other parts of her body.
Following the arrival of first responders, police officials shifted the body of the woman to the District Headquarters Hospital for postmortem.
Hussain, on the other hand, was shifted by emergency services to the burn unit of the Holy Family Hospital. Officials confirmed that the suspect remains under medical treatment in critical condition while in police custody.
