DNA report rules out 'rape' in Toba Tek Singh murder case

• Police amend case FIR under Section 311 of the PPC.
• Forensic analysis authenticates incident's video.
• Both accused are currently in 14-day judicial remand. 

TOBA TEK SINGH: In a notable development, the forensics report has ruled out the possibility of rape in the Toba Tek Singh murder case involving the death of Maria who was allegedly murdered by her brother Faisal and father Abdul Sattar.

The DNA report, prepared by the Punjab Forensic Science Agency, says that the victim was not raped, refuting the police's earlier suspicion that Maria — whose body was exhumed last month for postmortem — was murdered by her father and brother to conceal their sexual assault and rape against the deceased.

The police had previously claimed that the victim was four months pregnant due to being raped by the accused who are currently imprisoned in district jail owing to a 14-day judicial remand issued by a local judicial magistrate.

The incident came to the light last month after a video showing Faisal allegedly strangling the victim in the presence of Abdul Sattar and other family members, occurred between the night of March 17 and 18, went viral on social media platforms.

According to a police official, the video recorded by Faisal’s brother Shahbaz and his wife Sumaira has also been declared authentic by the forensic analysis report.

The couple, who had reported the incident to the police, have also claimed that both the accused had threatened them with killing their children if they were to speak about Maria's murder.

Furthermore, Faisal's sister-in-law, during interrogation, informed the police that Faisal had threatened to grievously harm her and her children if she cooperated with the police.

Following the DNA report, the police have made changes to the first information report (FIR) and the challan of the case under Section 311 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) which now read that the victim was murdered by her father and brother for honour.