Murree: Police arrested Master Shaukat, the central suspect who is believed to have burnt alive Maria, a schoolteacher from Murree for rejecting his son’s marriage proposal.
According to details, Murree police took Master Shaukat into custody for burning Maria. Two days before, Maria had lost the battle for her life at PIMS hospital in Islamabad. The victim had been brought in with 85% of her body burnt and doctors had informed Maria’s family that it would take a mircle for her to survive.
Before dying, Maria had recorded her statement to the police in which she had claimed that her parents had been away to a nearby village to attend a funeral and she was alone with her little sister when Master Shaukat and his four accomplices entered her house and started beating her. After dousing her in petrol, the suspects set her on fire.
In her statement to the police, Maria had alleged that her only crime was that she had refused the marriage proposal of Master Shaukat’s son, who was already married.
Following her death, Maria’s parents had protested outside PIMS hospital. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had taken notice of the incident and tasked relevant authorities to kick-start investigations regarding the murder.
