What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
A man has been arrested for allegedly murdering his 7-year-old daughter by slitting her throat following a tiff with his wife in Kupwara district of north Kashmir, police announced on Monday – six days after her body was recovered.
As per police, Mohammad Iqbal Khatana allegedly first strangulated the minor child and then slit her throat in anger at Zab village in Khurhama area.
According to Kupwara SSP Yougal Manhas, police investigation has found that Iqbal’s relationship with his wife had been strained for a year, and the couple had often engaged in arguments that resulted in minor scuffles.
On the day of the murder, there was a heated argument between Iqbal and his wife, and he left the house, intending to kill himself. His daughter followed him, but his wife remained in the courtyard. Iqbal suffocated his daughter for 2-3 minutes before slitting her throat, after which he placed her body in a firewood shed near his uncle’s house.
Iqbal then cleaned the knife and his hands in stagnant water before returning home. When his family noticed the girl’s absence, they searched for her and contacted the police. Iqbal and others went to the police post to file a missing person report.
However, the police noticed inconsistencies in the family’s statements during the investigation, and suspicion turned to Iqbal. Iqbal subsequently “confessed” to the crime.
Revealing the sequence of events leading to the murder, the SSP said that on the fateful day, Iqbal, a driver by profession, returned to his home at around 4:15 pm. “Between 4:15 pm and 6 pm, he finished doing household work like splitting fire-wood etc,” he said, adding, “At around 6:30 pm, he had a heated argument with his wife Nageena Begum.”
“After a heated argument with his wife, Iqbal went to the kitchen, hid the kitchen-knife in his bosom. He left the house saying that he had to fix his punctured stepney tyre,” the SSP said, adding, “Actually Iqbal intended to kill himself.”
When he left the house, his minor daughter followed him.
According to the police, Iqbal waited at Khurhama bus stand for Isha azaan so that streets got deserted, making it convenient to kill himself.
“As people left for Taraweeh, he drove his vehicle further and halted the vehicle near an electric transformer. Out of anguish, he suffocated the girl for around 2-3 minutes, as a result of which the girl died on spot,” the SSP said.
After killing her, Iqbal took his daughter’s body to a firewood shed, placed it in supine position (chest facing upwards) and then slit her throat using the kitchen knife so that the inmates of the houses adjacent to the firewood shed are put to blame, saving his skin.
“Since the knife wasn’t quite sharp, and his hands were trembling out of fear and remorse, when he placed the knife on the throat and began to cut, it slid down & the throat was slit below the first mark. Blood gushed out and its spatters got on his hands, sleeves and the bottom part of his pants, as he was in bent-position with the hands and legs close to the dead body, while carrying out the inhumane act of slitting the throat,” informed the officer.
After committing the crime, Iqbal reached home and put the knife in the kitchen. When family members saw him returning without the girl, they launched a search and got three mosques to announce the news.
Iqbal along with few other persons reached police post Khurhama in his vehicle to lodge a missing report of the girl.
During interrogation, Iqbal emerged as the prime suspect in the case and later confessed to the crime.
