A woman in Islamabad succumbed to her burn injuries after she was allegedly tortured and set on fire by her husband and father-in-law last month, her lawyer said on Thursday.
According to Advocate Munir Ahmed, the incident occurred on June 8 when the suspects poured petrol on the victim after having a fight.
Speaking to reporters in Islamabad, he said: “Today, she passed away. Her husband and father-in-law are responsible for her death,” urging that both suspects be charged with the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) and the death penalty. “A society without justice cannot be sustainable. They should be punished so that Sanya (victim) gets justice,” he said.
Ahmed detailed the incident, saying: “They kept her at home and tortured her while forcing her to remain quiet. But the noise could not be contained, and they ultimately brought her to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) hospital.” At the hospital, the lawyer said, the suspects blamed a cylinder explosion for the woman’s burns.
He said that a first information report (FIR) was registered based on the victim’s statement after her family found out about the incident. Both suspects had been arrested and were currently in judicial custody, he added.
The FIR was filed on June 9 at the Kirpa Police Station on the victim’s complaint under Sections 34 (common intention), 324 (attempted murder) and 336-B (punishment for hurt by corrosive substance) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). The victim stated in the FIR, “I fought with my husband and father-in-law around 11pm. Then, my father-in-law hit me on the head which made me dizzy. I am not sure who set me on fire, but I suspect it was my father-in-law, who also tortured me.” She demanded that legal action be taken against her husband and father-in-law.
Today, her lawyer said that the charges under Section 336-B were a non-bailable offence, adding that other charges should also be included.
Ahmed explained, “This is a domestic violence case which went to the extent of setting her on fire […] The ATA (Anti-Terrorism Act] should also be applied. The prosecution should take place under this act.”
He called for justice for the victim, saying, “If the suspects are not punished strictly or a judicial loophole occurs, then it means that there will be silence when a woman is set on fire.”
Earlier this week, a man was arrested after he set his wife on fire by sprinkling petrol on her in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district.
Last month, an ATA in Sahiwal sentenced a man to 14 years in prison and a fine of Rs8.1 million for critically injuring his former mother-in-law and her 10-year-old son in a brutal acid attack.