The investigation began after the victim’s father filed a missing person’s report several months ago. Authorities discovered that the victim’s mother-in-law, sister-in-law Yasmeen, Yasmeen’s son, and a relative from Lahore named Naveed were involved in the murder, dismemberment, and disposal of the body.
Police have arrested the mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and Naveed, all of whom confessed to the crime during interrogation. The murder weapon and two of the victim’s mobile phones were recovered.
The victim, Zara, was the daughter of Gujranwala-based ASI Shabir Ahmed. She married her cousin Qadeer four years ago, and the couple moved to Saudi Arabia, where their son Shafaq was born two and a half years ago. Tensions arose between Zara and her mother-in-law, Sughran, after Qadeer began depositing his earnings into Zara’s account.
Sughran initially accused Zara of misconduct in an attempt to force a divorce. When that failed, she conspired with her daughter Yasmeen to kill Zara.
A month and a half ago, when Zara returned to Pakistan, Sughran and Yasmeen enlisted Naveed’s help, luring him with the promise of sending him to Italy. They murdered Zara by suffocating her with a pillow and then dismembered her body. They burned her face to hinder identification. Naveed transported the body parts in five sacks to Lahore, while Sughran, Yasmeen, and her grandson disposed of the remains in a drain.
The crime unraveled when Zara’s father reported her missing, leading to the interrogation of Yasmeen’s son, whose statements revealed the full extent of the gruesome act.
