HARIPUR: The model criminal court has acquitted a man here on the charge of killing his wife and three daughters more than two years ago.

The judge pronounced that the evidence on record was insufficient to convict Shafqat Zaman alias Kino and the prosecution couldn’t prove its case against him.

The occurrence had taken place on May 6, 2018.

Sadaf, 35, and her three daughters, including Eman Shehzadi, 9, Zainab Bibi, 5, and Zarqa Shehzadi, 7, were found dead in their Qutba village house.

The police said all four were poisoned to death after being tied with ropes. They claimed that the accused had confessed to killing them during interrogation and named two close relatives as accomplices.

A sister of the deceased woman had formally told a magistrate that Shafqat killed his wife over her reluctance to transfer the ownership of her house and some agricultural land to him.

However, the lawyer for the accused denied the charge and there’s no evidence of his client’s involvement in the crime. The two co-accused were absolved of the charge.

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2021