Alleged killer of soon-to-be-married woman turns out to be brother-in-law she rejected

LAHORE: The alleged killer of a young woman, who was shot dead earlier this week and was to be married today, was identified as her brother-in-law, police revealed on Sunday, after presenting the accused in a local judicial magistrate.

The accused, Ahsan, was handed over to the police on a four-day physical remand against a request of 14 days, police said, adding that he had called the late woman on her phone, telling her to come to the park in Lahore's Gulberg neighbourhood where she was eventually found dead.

Police had arrested the man from Eminabad town in the Gujranwala district on Saturday and recovered the murder weapon from him as well. They claimed that he had confessed to killing his sister-in-law, saying he wished to marry her but upon her refusal to accompany him, shot her dead.

According to Lahore police, Ahsan liked his sister-in-law and, when the date of her marriage was finalised, panicked and asked her to come to the park where she was later found dead. Reportedly, when she had refused to accompany him and abandon the scheduled marriage, he had shot her and fled.

Police had earlier confirmed they had arrested at least one suspect after a first information report (FIR) over the murder was registered. The case was filed on behalf of Riaz Hussain, the deceased's father.

Sources in the Lahore police had said earlier they asked Hussain, the 24-year-old girl's father, to be part of the investigation and that the suspect they had detained was caught by tracking the deceased's call records. The last call that the late woman received was from the arrested man's number, the sources added.