MUZAFFARABAD: A 24-year-old man detained by police in Poonch district of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on suspicion of murdering his pregnant teenage wife and staging a road accident confessed to the crime on Wednesday, a senior official confirmed to Dawn.

Taimoor Farooq, the accused, made his confession in a statement recorded under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) before an executive magistrate in the town of Hajira, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) in Poonch Khurram Iqbal said.

A resident of Chhaprian village in the jurisdiction of Hajira police station, Taimoor had been married to 19-year-old Khansa Haroon for about one-and-a-half years. The couple lived in a joint family household, and Taimoor earned his livelihood as a taxi driver operating on local routes.

Speaking to Dawn by telephone from Rawalakot, SSP Iqbal said theincident was rooted in a disturbing family dispute.

Taimoor`s father had allegedly made inappropriate advances toward Khansa, who reported the matter to both her husband and her parents.

`Khansa was known for her innocence and hailed from a humble family,` the SSP said, adding that the revelation deeply distressed her father, who suffered a heart attack.

In response, a localjirga convened around six months ago, decided that Taimoor`s family would remain on the ground floor of their house while his father and brother would stay upstairs.

The jirga also barred Taimoor`s father from visiting his son`s household.

Despite these measures, Taimoor`s behaviour toward Khansa worsened, and he frequently mistreated her, the SSP said.

On the night of December 26, Taimoor drove Khansa in his car, claiming he would take her to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital in Hajira for a checkup.

However, after driving for about 20 minutes, he stopped the vehicle andstruck her twice on the head with a stone, killing her instantly.

To mislead authorities, Taimoor staged the scene to appear as a road accident and personally reported the incident to the police.

Presenting himself as his wife`s legal heir, he declined a post-mortem examination and arranged for her burial the following morning.

`Ironically, neither the police nor neighbours considered the possibility of saving the seven-month-old unborn baby,` SSP Iqbal admitted.

As doubts over Taimoor`s account grew, police registered an FIR against him on December 29 under Sections 322 (causing death by an unlawful act) and 279 (rash driving) of the Azad Penal Code.

During interrogation, Taimoor failed to provide satisfactory answers to most of the questions. Eventually, he confessed to the crime and revealed detailed accounts of how he had committed the homicide In the meanwhile, Khansa`s father also lodged a formal complaint with the district magistrate of Poonch (thedeputy commissioner), demanding justice for his daughter.

The deputy commissioner ordered Khansa`s body to be exhumed on January 9 for a post-mortem examination, which revealed she had been hit in the head twice with a pointed stone, as well as a deceased seven-month-old baby girl in her womb. In light of the findings, Section 322 in the FIR was replaced with Section 302, which pertains to intentional murder.

On Wednesday, the accused made a formal confession to murder before a sub divisional magistrate (assistant commissioner)inHajiraunderSection 164 of CrPC, the SSP said.

Meanwhile, the gruesome murder also triggered a social media campaign under the banner of `Justice for Khansa Haroon`, demanding capital punishment for the perpetrator and condemning those who allegedly supported him.

SSP Iqbal however vowed that justice would be delivered at all costs.

`We will spare no effort to ensure the accused receives due punishment for this harrowing crime,` he said.