Man, son sentenced to death for daughter’s rape, murder

TOBA TEK SINGH: An Additional District and Sessions Judge handed down the death sentence to a man and his son for the murder of his daughter on Monday.

The deceased, 22-year-old Maria Bibi, was murdered on March 18, 2024, at Chak 477 JB Allowal. A viral video showed her being strangled, allegedly to conceal their crime of repeatedly raping her, which resulted in her pregnancy. Toba Sadar police arrested Abdul Sattar and his son Muhammad Faisal, 17 days after her murder.

During the investigation, Abdul Sattar’s other son, Muhammad Shahbaz, revealed that Maria Bibi had informed him a day before her murder that both Abdul Sattar and Muhammad Faisal (her father and brother) had repeatedly raped her on different occasions. Kuasar Perveen, Maria Bibi’s elder sister, testified that upon arriving at her parent’s house after learning of Maria Bibi’s death, she found torture marks on her body during the bathing ritual. Maria Bibi’s body was exhumed, and the autopsy report confirmed broken neck bones and evidence of torture. The court acquitted Muhammad Shahbaz, another brother of the deceased, and his wife Sumaira Bibi, granting them the benefit of the doubt.