Lahore police on Wednesday arrested Constable Farooq, the main suspect in the murder of Lady Constable Soman.
Farooq was apprehended at his home, and the investigation is now underway. According to the authorities, Farooq was part of the police’s operations department.
In his statement to the police, Farooq admitted that he was in love with Soman and wanted to marry her.
However, she had decided to marry someone else after a long-standing relationship with him, which allegedly led to the tragic incident.
Both the accused and the victim were stationed at the police lines and were assigned law and order duties at Manawan Police Station on the day of the incident.
A murder case had been filed at the request of Soman’s brother, naming Farooq and his associates, Tahir and Hamza, as suspects. The investigation is expected to shed further light on the events leading up to the murder.
Yesterday, a young female police officer was fatally shot by a male colleague in the Harbanspura area, as bystanders looked on. The victim, Constable Soman, aged 27, sustained three gunshot wounds, which led to her death.
According to a police official, Constable Farooq, fled the scene after the incident.
Earlier reports indicated that the lady constable had arrived in Canal park on a motorcycle with the young man. An argument reportedly broke out between the two, which led to violence. The man physically assaulted the constable, prompting locals to intervene and demand that he apologise.
However, the situation took a turn when the young man drew a pistol and fired warning shots into the air, causing the nearby crowd to disperse. He then fired at the lady constable, first shooting her in the leg before delivering fatal shots to her head.
Witnesses reported that the suspect and victim both were dressed in civilian clothes.
A service card found in the victim’s purse had confirmed her identity as a police constable.
DIG Operations Faisal Kamran has taken notice of the incident.
