Two women held in Multan for strangling faith healer

LAHORE: Two women were arrested in Multan for murder after strangling a faith healer with a scarf after years of being blackmailed over videos he took of them, police said on Monday.

The women told police they had turned to Riaz Hussain for help in removing black magic curses but he instead took compromising videos that he threatened to release. “During the investigation it was found that Riaz Hussain had been sexually harassing women for a long time under the pretext of spiritual healing,” police said in a statement.

The women, with the help of their cousin and another man, strangled the faith healer with a scarf before dumping his body. The four have been arrested for murder, police said, adding a fifth man had also been arrested.

In 2022, a pregnant woman was brought to a hospital with a nail hammered into her head after a faith healer said it would guarantee she gave birth to a boy. Another woman died the following year after being tortured with sticks for days by a faith healer who claimed to be following an exorcism ritual.