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 said Monday her death was case of homicide and not suicide.
Zehra, on July 9, had died after being found hanging by a ceiling fan at her residence.
Addressing a presser in Lahore, 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 committee was tasked with monitoring the investigation on a daily basis.
The minister, addressing the press conference – 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.
Meanwhile, the central police officer overseeing the case said that the Punjab Forensic Science Agency also submitted all its test reports, stating that the forensics found no evidence of suicide.
“All the tests and investigations show that it is not a case of suicide. Sania Zehra was killed on July 9 and her [murder] was presented as a suicide,” he said.
According to the forensic report, Zehra’s neck was not swollen nor was it elongated due to the noose.
“The DNA of Sania’s husband and mother-in-law matched with the dupatta used as the noose,” it added.
As per the report, the noose around Zehra’s neck did not cause her death and that the scar on the neck and shoulder was not because of the dupatta.
“The DNA of the sample found from Sania’s nail was also matched with that of her husband,” it read.
Separately, Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Maryam Nawaz on Monday formed a committee to investigate the alleged murder of Sania Zehra.
The Punjab Home Department issued a notification regarding the formation of the committee comprising RPO Bahawalpur, Additional Secretary Home, Deputy Prosecutor, and CPO Sadiq Dogar. The committee will review the investigation on a daily basis to ensure justice is served.
