Kinnaird murder: He was a psychopath not Devdas

Shams Alam bought a one-way ticket to hell, first by murdering Samar Wasti and then by committing suicide.

Maryam Mirza October 18, 2011
Unrequited lover or  psychopathic stalker, I can’t help being angry, depressed, repulsed at the act committed by a boy of 23 years of age outside my college gates. Shams Alam murdered Samar Wasti  because she wouldn't marry him. He then went on to commit suicide mere seconds later.

[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTFTVL_qOs8!]]

I did not know Samar personally but she was a fellow student. I had seen her around college a number of times, with friends, at the café, studying. Never in a million years would it have crossed anyone’s mind that this young girl of just 19 would never see another birthday.

I was fortunate (ironic how people can be fortunate in the most unfortunate of times) to have not heard the gunshots, or seen the stream of blood coursing its way down the pedestrian bridge where the incident took place, or even seen the lifeless bodies of Samar and the boy who allegedly ‘loved’ her. I was lucky enough to not have seen it first-hand unlike many of my classmates who were present there. But the media of our time is cruel and unforgiving. Witness the dead bodies, I did, blood, gun and all, on national television.

The image of Samar's corpse sprawled on the bridge right outside our college was something us girls could have done without.

Having spoken to one of Samar’s friend a few minutes after the incident (we travel by the same bus) I can state with assurance that Samar was a victim. Yes, she had been friends with the boy in school but she had tried time and again to sever contact with him when he declared that he wanted to marry her. Shams, the persistent stalker, didn't back down even when Samar's father politely asked him to.

Samar did not die right away, as the media reported. Her gun shots proved to be fatal, but had the ambulance arrived in time, who knows whether Samar would have survived or not. Jail Road is notorious for it’s traffic jams, but the one yesterday couldn't have happened at a worse time.

I don't want to delve into the details of the murder; I'm sure everyone is already aware of the gruesome details. I just want to highlight a few opinions that I came across on the internet about this cold blooded murder. Even though most, including the Kinnaird College administration have condemned the act, comments on different online forums have been upsetting and shocking. One girl said:
   “No comments.. but it is love.... I respect Shams's love.. salute you Shams, yeh sab larki ki waja se hua hai. but itni bari saza bhi nhi deni chahye thi. Zbrdsti nikah kar leta. Then larki khud set ho jati.

It is all the girl's fault but the punishment was a bit harsh. You should have forcefully married her, she would have been fine in no time.

Someone else had posted:
   "Every thing is fair in love and war."

Reading such things makes me wonder how peoples' minds work. Instead of condemning a murder and a suicide, they say that the girl and boy brought it upon themselves. Does that even matter now?

Will that bring any amount of solace to the family of the girl and even the two young sisters that Shams left behind?

The real question of why Shams had a gun, what mental problems he was suffering from, and how our country needs gun-control did not even surface.

All I can say is, Shams Alam bought a one-way ticket to hell, first by committing murder and then by suicide.

May Samar rest in peace.
WRITTEN BY:
Maryam Mirza A freshman at Kinnaird College for Women, majoring in Media Studies.
The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necassarily reflect the views and policies of the Express Tribune.

COMMENTS (145)

Subhan | 12 years ago | Reply @sania: there are a lot of women getting raped while wearing veil, well it's not that her head seduced him, it's just that he wouldn't get a piece of meat from her or any one else.
Subhan | 12 years ago | Reply I couldn't agree more, In fact i would say that this is because of violent nature of state and also his personal matters played a major part in taking him to this extent. parents should speak to there children in early age about religion, gender-difference, marriage, alcohol etc etc so that it would be a normal thing for them psychologically. otherwise when they will come across any of this they will play an extremist.
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