Woman set on fire by tenants for demanding rent

Islamabad:A young woman was publicly set on fire at Maira Abadi, falling in the jurisdiction of Golra police station, on a minor dispute between a landlord and tenant.

The incident occurred in the residential area of Sector G-12, recently given under the control of Golra police station, which was grabbed by the influential land mafia in the past, a crime analyst attached to the Islamabad police said.

The victim was shifted to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) with serious burn wounds, however, she has been declared out of danger by the specialists of PIMS. The police have registered first information report under sections 336-B/ 324/34 PPC on the complaint of the victim and arrested three people including a woman reportedly involved in the heinous offence.

Uzma Bibi, the wife of Asif Shah, a resident of Maira Abadi, G-12, lodged a complaint with the Golra police, saying that the assailant's family Rani Bibi, was living in her house as a tenant but were not paying the rent of the house. She said that she went to Rani’s home to collect rent but she humiliated her with abusive language and refused to pay the rent, however, she returned without getting rent. After ‘Iftar’, she again visited Rani’s house where, Idrees Shah, Tanvir Shah and Saba were present with Rani Bibi, adding, on demanding rent, her tenant’s family started sprinkling petrol on her and Rani Bibi set her on fire. They ran off the scene after watching her engulfed in flames.

People in the surroundings and volunteers rushed to her put out the fire and shifted her to PIMS. The police have arrested three suspects including Idrees Shah, Tanvir Shah and Rani Bibi, reportedly involved in the attempted murder case, while, two others including a woman are being hunted down.

The people engaged in the investigation of the case, said when contacted by this correspondent, “The gravity of the offence to set any human on fire by sprinkling petrol is not less dreadful than the acid-throwing act of transgression and such an offence should be treated as serious as the offense of acid throwing.”

The police, however, has initiated an investigation to reveal the reality and sensitivity of the case. Nonetheless, the top policeman should seriously concentrate on the affairs of significant areas of Islamabad police stations such as Golra, Bhara Kahu, Tarnol, Noon, Nelore, Sihala and Sangjani to make the capital city as crime-free metropolis of the country.