A case that police initially logged as a hit-and-run has turned into a murder investigation after Ahmedabad’s M Division traffic police found that a 22-year-old woman’s death was, in fact, a planned killing carried out by her own father and brother.
Police say the real motive traced back nearly three months, to a video that had gone viral showing Sofia with a male friend. There, Habil allegedly struck her on the head three times with a hammer, with his father assisting him.
The two ran a fabrication business together, according to police. Her father and brother had reprimanded her over the clip and objected to her continuing to talk to other young men, according to M Division traffic police inspector U B Dhakada. The father and son lured Sofia to a secluded stretch near Gheljipura in Sarkhej, according to the police account.
The victim, Sofia Farooq, a resident of the Sarkhej area, worked as a receptionist at a hospital in Juhapura. That disapproval reportedly hardened into a grudge, and the two men allegedly began planning to kill her, believing, investigators say, that it was necessary to protect the family’s standing in their community. The investigation is ongoing, and officers are expected to examine phone and location records, along with statements from family and neighbours, to establish the full timeline of the alleged conspiracy.
Her father, 56-year-old Mohammed Farooq Nawabkhan, and her brother, 38-year-old Habil Farooq, have been taken into custody.
