In a horrific crime that has shocked Shamli district in Uttar Pradesh, a 37-year-old man has confessed to murdering his wife and two young daughters after a prolonged dispute over her refusal to wear a hijab. The police unearthed the bodies of the three victims from a nine-foot-deep pit dug in the courtyard of their family home in Garhi Daulat village.
A Premeditated Act of Brutality
Mohammad Farukh, a casual labourer who worked making rotis at hotels and weddings, meticulously planned the murders. According to police, the tipping point came about a month ago when his 32-year-old wife, Tahira, left for her parental home without wearing a hijab. Farukh viewed this act as a grave defiance of his authority.
Determined to punish her, Farukh feigned reconciliation and lovingly brought Tahira back to their home along with their daughters, 14-year-old Afreen and 7-year-old Sahreen, just 10-12 days before the crime. In the meantime, he had already begun his sinister preparations.
Under the false pretext of constructing a toilet, Farukh excavated a deep pit in his courtyard. He also procured a country-made pistol and cartridges from a smuggler in the nearby Kairana area, setting the stage for the tragedy.
The Night of Horror in Garhi Daulat
The gruesome incident occurred in the dead of night between December 9 and 10. Police details reveal that Farukh woke his wife up around midnight, pretending he wanted tea. As Tahira stepped into the courtyard to light the stove, he shot her at point-blank range.
The gunshot woke up the elder daughter, Afreen, who rushed out to see what happened. Farukh shot her as well; investigators suspect he also bludgeoned her, as one of her eyes was found protruding. The commotion then awoke the youngest, Sahreen. The seven-year-old emerged, only to be strangled to death by her own father.
In a cold-blooded act, Farukh then dumped the bodies of his wife and two children into the pre-dug pit and sealed it. The couple's three other children—10-year-old Asmeen, 9-year-old Bilal, and 5-year-old Arshad—slept through the entire nightmare.
Unravelling the Crime and the Motive
Come morning, Farukh lied to his surviving children, telling them their mother and sisters had moved to a rented place in Shamli. The ruse initially worked, as Tahira had recently spent a month at her parents' home, so her absence did not immediately raise alarm.
However, suspicion grew over the following days. Farukh's parents, Daud and Asgari, who lived separately in the same village due to strained relations, became uneasy about the sudden disappearance. Six days after the murders, Daud alerted the village head, who subsequently informed the Kandhla police station on Tuesday evening.
Acting on the tip-off, police officers arrived and unearthed the remains late on Tuesday night. Under interrogation, Farukh cracked and confessed to the triple murder.
Shamli SP NP Singh stated that the hijab dispute was the primary trigger. "He explicitly cited her not wearing hijab (burqa and niqab) as the reason for this barbaric act," Singh said. Police have arrested Farukh and recovered the weapon used in the crime. A murder case has been initiated, and forensic teams have examined the site.
A History of Strife and Neglect
Tahira's elder brother, Mohammad Iqbal, who rushed to the village upon hearing the news, painted a picture of a troubled marriage marked by financial instability and controlling behaviour. The couple had been married for 16 years, after their wedding in Muzaffarnagar's Mansurpur area.
"Farukh was irresponsible about family finances besides being overpossessive; we often supported them," Iqbal lamented. "He brought her back sweetly just 10-12 days ago, but this was all a facade."
The tragedy has left the three surviving children orphaned in the most brutal way imaginable. The community and authorities are now grappling with the aftermath of a crime rooted in extreme possessiveness and a fatal insistence on religious attire.
