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Dubai: A 22-year-old woman’s death, initially reported as a hit-and-run accident, has turned into an alleged “honour killing” after police said her father and brother murdered her with a hammer and staged a road crash to cover their tracks, Indian media reported.
Sofia Farooq was allegedly killed on August 12 after her family became angry over a video of her with a young man that had gone viral about three months earlier.
Her father, Mohammed Farooq Nawabkhan, 56, and brother, Habil Farooq, 38, have now been arrested and a murder case registered against them, according to Indian media reports citing Ahmedabad police.
What initially appeared to investigators to be a fatal road accident began to unravel after police found inconsistencies in the brother’s account and evidence at the scene did not match his version of events.
The hit-and-run story
On the night of August 12, Sofia was travelling with her family members on a motorcycle when Habil claimed an unidentified speeding vehicle had struck the bike from behind.
Sofia suffered severe head injuries and was taken to Sola Civil Hospital. She died from her injuries the following day.
Habil allegedly told authorities that he too had suffered injuries in the collision.
Traffic police initially treated the death as a hit-and-run case.
But as investigators reconstructed what happened that night, doubts began to emerge.
The Times of India reported that police found no evidence at the location to support the claim that another vehicle had rammed the motorcycle. CCTV footage examined during the investigation also reportedly failed to show the vehicle described by Habil.
Police began questioning him more closely — and the alleged murder plot emerged.
Hammer hidden in trousers
Investigators allege that Farooq and Habil had already decided to kill Sofia and chose a dark, relatively isolated route where there were fewer CCTV cameras.
According to police, Habil concealed an iron hammer inside his trousers before the family set out on the night of August 12.
Sofia was taken to an isolated dirt track near Gheljipura village in the Sarkhej area, where Habil allegedly attacked her.
Police say he struck his sister three times on the head with the hammer while their father assisted in the crime.
The father and son then allegedly moved Sofia back towards the main road and set about making her death look like the result of a traffic collision.
The motorcycle was damaged and Habil allegedly injured himself to reinforce the hit-and-run story before authorities were informed that an unidentified vehicle had struck them.
“The accused lodged a false complaint about an unknown vehicle and created a fake accident narrative to mislead the investigation,” M Division traffic police inspector U B Dhakada was quoted as saying by Indian media.
Why was Sofia killed?
Police say the motive was what the accused regarded as the family’s “honour”.
A video showing Sofia with a young man had reportedly circulated widely about three months before her death.
Her father and brother had objected to her interactions with men and reprimanded her, according to investigators.
Police allege that resentment over the video and fears of social embarrassment eventually led the two men to plan Sofia’s killing.
Investigators believe the murder had been contemplated for about three months before it was carried out.
Sofia worked as a hospital receptionist in Ahmedabad.
Both men remain in custody and face murder charges.
