Man, woman arrested for attacking former spouses with acid

Police on Sunday arrested a man for allegedly throwing acid on his former wife in Karachi’s Baldia Town neighbourhood. Police also arrested a woman for allegedly throwing acid on her former husband in the New Karachi neighbourhood.

In the Baldia Town incident, the suspect identified as Syed Zeeshan had escaped after throwing acid on his ex-wife, 21-year-old Rimsha. According to District Keamari SSP Fida Hussain Janwari, raids were conducted in different parts of the city to arrest the fleeing suspect on Saturday.

However, said the officer, the police were unable to arrest him, adding that acting on a tip-off, the police conducted a raid at a hideout near the suspect’s residence on Sunday and arrested him.

Citing the initial interrogation, the officer said that the suspect and his victim had married of their own free will a couple of years ago, but they often got into fights with each other. The suspect admitted that both of them uploaded videos to TikTok, but he later asked his then wife not to post videos on the platform.

He also admitted that when she refused to comply, he beat her up and injured her a few months ago, following which she left their house to move back in with her parents and also filed for divorce.

In her video statement to the police, Rimsha said that she worked at the Tahir Plaza near the city courts, adding that after their divorce, Zeeshan often harassed her as she went to or returned from work, demanding that she move back in with him.

“On Saturday, Zeeshan again started following me when I left home for work. Then I started running. He chased me and caught my abaya and threw acid on me. Zeeshan should get severe punishment.”

Rimsha had been taken to the burns ward of the Dr Ruth KM Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK), where doctors confirmed that she had suffered 39 per cent burn injuries.

Police had said earlier that the victim’s family had contacted the police a few months ago after the ex-husband had tried to take the woman to his house, adding that the police had called in both the families and discussed the matter with them.

They said Zeeshan’s father had even submitted a surety in writing that the suspect would not force his ex-wife to live with him. They also said that there were multiple issues between the attacker and the victim.

They added that posting videos on TikTok could be one of the issues, but they could say nothing with certainty until their investigation was completed.

Sindh Governor Imran Ismail had also taken notice of the incident and sought a detailed report from the Karachi police chief, ordering him to arrest the attacker immediately. The governor had also directed the authorities concerned to ensure that every medical assistance was provided to the victim.

Separately, the police arrested a woman for a similar crime. They said that the suspect had been forcing her ex-husband to get married to her again but he had been refusing.

Following which, they added, she threw acid on him and later tried to misdirect the investigation, claiming that her ex-husband had thrown acid on her and disappeared. Police said the incident had occurred on Thursday afternoon, when the suspect Shabana Kausar called her ex-husband Usman to her house and insisted on a Nikah ceremony.

Upon refusal, the woman threw acid on the man, said the police, adding that Usman managed to reach his grandmother’s house in a rickshaw and then his family took him to the burns ward of the CHK.

Citing the initial investigation, the police said that Shabana had called Usman to her house with the help of an unidentified person, who had phoned the ex-husband and asked him to meet at the suspect’s house, where the incident had occurred. Police said that the woman’s hand had also suffered minor burns while throwing acid.