Last month, the 20-year-old Syeda Sania Zehra — a pregnant mother of two — was found dead in Multan in a position which indicated that she committed suicide.
However, today, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari said that her death was case of homicide and not suicide.
Sania Zehra, on July 9, had died after being found hanging by a ceiling fan at her residence.
While addressing a press conference in Lahore today, the provincial information minister said: “No evidence of suicide has been found in the Sania Zehra case. The mother-in-law and husband had put a noose around the girl’s neck together.”
The minister made the revelation two days after the Punjab government constituted a six-member committee to oversee probe in the murder case. The committee, comprising forensic experts, was formed after discrepancies found in the FIR’s contents and victim’s post-mortem report, adding fuel to controversies.
The minister, addressing the presser — flanked by Chairperson of the Women Protection Authority Hina Pervaiz Butt — said that the wounds on the girl’s shoulder and neck are not due to the noose.
Bokhari, who mentioned being a criminal lawyer herself, said a homicide case can longer be forged as one of suicide.
“Forensic lab traces such cases. Forensics have found evidence against Sania’s mother-in-law and husband,” said the minister.
Bokhari insisted that the suspect tried very hard to escape and there was immense pressure with regard to the case.
“Now, permission won’t be given by hiding one’s crime after killing women,” she added.
Butt also endorsed Bokhari’s statement, saying that she knew it was not a suicide case after seeing photographs of the crime scene.
“Evidence later revealed that the girl was murdered and hanged. Mother-in-law and husband polygraph test positive,” she added.
