Sania Zehra murdered, no signs of suicide found by forensics: Punjab information minister

Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari has revealed details regarding the murder case of 20-year-old Syeda Sania Zehra, a pregnant mother of two — was found dead at her residence in Multan last month.

The provincial minister, addressing a press conference in Lahore on Monday, said that the woman's death was not a result of suicide but that of homicide.

The victim, who was found dead hanging by a ceiling on July 9, was alleged to have been killed by her husband — a claim her father, who was a complainant in the initial first information report, has repeatedly made.

Bokhari, however, has said that the suspect is, in fact, the culprit along with his mother, as all evidence points towards their role in Zehra's killing.

"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," she said during the presser.

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."

She 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."

Forensic tests, probe don't show suicide

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."

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.

The case

According to the first information report (FIR) filed by her father Syed Asad Abbas Shah, the victim was found hanging from a ceiling fan after her family reached her residence upon receiving a call from the police at 9am on July 9, 2024.

Her husband and in-laws were alleged to have been involved in the murder of the young mother, whose father filed a complaint against them under sections 302 (intentional murder), 148 (rioting armed with a deadly weapon) and 149 (unlawful assembly) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) at the New Multan police station.

According to a forensic specialist, present at the scene, the noose around the victim's neck easily opened up when attempted to be untied. The doctor dealing with the matter, on the other hand, said the victim had passed away at 6pm that day.

The victim's jaw was also broken and marks of a rope were also visible on her feet, the complainant mentioned citing the doctor in the FIR, adding that the there were signs of torture on her body with both eye and ribs bruised and elbows injured.

Zehra, when found dead, was five to six months pregnant. Meanwhile, the suspect in the case — her husband — had fled the scene without informing his wife's family.

The victim's father, denying that Zehra died of suicide, insisted that his daughter was killed by her husband who wanted her property.

The case garnered immense traction on social media with people calling for justice, seeking punishment for the perpetrators.

The case Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz then instructed Provincial Minister for Social Welfare and Finance Punjab Sohail Shaukat Butt and Chairperson Women Protection Authority MPA Hina Parvez Butt to meet the grieving family in Multan following which an investigation into the case was initiated via a joint investigation team.

After a court order, the police exhumed the victim's body on July 13 and collected the samples of a post-mortem for a forensic report to probe the murder. The cause of her death, after a few days, was established as asphyxia due to hanging.

On July 20, the victim's husband and murder suspect — Ali Raza — was arrested after the Multan police registered a different case against him after he was released in the first FIR.

The new FIR against the husband invoked PPC Sections 468 (forgery), 420 (cheating and dishonesty), 471 (using forged document as genuine), 494 (marrying again during lifetime of spouse) and 495 (concealment of former marriage from person with whom subsequent marriage is contracted).

According to the new FIR, the victim's husband had declared himself single in their marriage certificate, even though he was a married man and a father of two daughters.

Later after securing bail, Raza held a press conference at the Multan Press Club, insisting that his wife had committed suicide. According to the suspect, he and Zehra had a heated argument on July 8 after which he slept in another room.

In the morning, he said, the wife did not respond after he knocked to opened the room's door, following which he found her hanging by the ceiling fan.

After the presser, he was yet again arrested by the police.