Arif and Farman Ali

Case record: Arif and Farman Ali

Background

Mohammad Arif Ali and Mohammad Farman Ali were brothers from the town of Darya Khan in Pakistan. They were small scale landowners in the town of Darya Khan, located on the border of the provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In August 2013, investigative coverage described the brothers keeping a low profile after their release from prison, with their uncle, Wali Deen, saying: "Interview the corpse-eaters? They didn't eat corpses. They are just the victims of their neighbours' jealousy,".

Both brothers had once been married with children, and the BBC described that their wives left them a couple of years prior to their arrests. A sister who lived with them was mentally disabled and was found drowned in a canal a few days after their arrest. The brothers were never examined by a psychiatrist for any personality disorder.

Police custody was extended in April 2011 for two brothers charged with cannibalism. Their alleged cannibalism was discovered after the body of a newly deceased woman was found to be missing from her grave in the city of Sargodha.

The offence

In April 2011, police said they caught the brothers making a meal of a corpse they had recently stolen from a grave. The brothers were alleged to have been involved in cannibalism discovered after the body of a newly deceased woman was found missing from her grave.

The body involved in the 2011 case was that of a 24-year-old woman, Saira Parveen, who died of throat cancer and was buried by her relatives. A family member reported that the next morning women of the family visited her grave and found it caved in, and the body had gone. Aijaz Hussain, the dead woman's brother, said: "We opened the grave, and were horrified to discover that the body had gone. We called the local elders, who called the police,"

Police investigations led them to the Ali brothers’ house.

During the earlier investigation, police said that Arif was sleeping in his room while his father and one of his sisters were there, while Farman was absent. Police searched the house and asked for the key to Farman’s locked room. When the room was opened, police found a stale smell of cooking and dead flesh. Investigating officers saw a cooking pot half full of meat curry, with a wooden board, a butcher’s axe and a large kitchen knife. Bits of fat clung to the board and the blade of the axe.

Inspector Fakhar Bhatti described what he saw: "In the middle of the room, I saw a cooking pot which was half full of meat curry. Nearby was a wooden board, a butcher's axe and a large kitchen knife. "It still gives me the creeps; they had chopped off one of her legs below the knee, and the other one near the shin. The rest of the body was intact. The curry was made from those parts. We got it analysed at a laboratory in Multan."

Police said the food attracted ants and their line vanished under a bed. Inspector Bhatti said: "We followed the ants. There were a couple of sacks of fertiliser under the bed. We pulled them out, and behind them, inside a gunny bag, we found the body,"

Police also reported that the brothers had allegedly admitted eating local dogs before turning to human meat. It was also said that police had not revealed any clear reason as to why the men resorted to cannibalism, describing the pair as appearing to be in sound physical and mental condition and living in seclusion with their sister, whose mental condition was said to be unstable.

In April 2014, after the brothers were rearrested, police said a head of a 3-year-old boy was found in the home of Mohammad Arif Ali and his brother Farman Ali. Neighbours complained about a dead body stench wafting from their home.

Police said Mohammad Arif Ali admitted cooking the 3-year-old boy's body parts into a curry, and that Arif and his brother Farman had admitted to boiling the toddler's body into a curry along with their brother. Police were still looking for Farman. Arif admitted during initial interrogation that they chopped the body and cooked it, but he blamed it on his elder brother and denied he either helped him or devoured the curry. District police chief Ameer Abdullah Khan said: "Residents informed police after a stench emanated from the house of the two brothers," and: "We raided the house on Monday morning and found the head of a young boy. 'We have arrested one of the brothers, Mohammad Arif, and are conducting raids for the arrest of the other brother.'"

Investigation

Aijaz Hussain reported contacting local elders and police after discovering the grave disturbed and the body missing. Police investigations led to the Ali brothers' house.

Inspector Fakhar Bhatti said the police raided the house in mid-morning in the presence of local elders: "We raided the house in mid-morning in the presence of local elders,"

He also described the circumstances in the house: "Arif was sleeping in his room. His father and one of his sisters were there. Farman was absent. We searched the house, and then asked for the key to Farman's room, which was locked."

The BBC described that during interrogation, Farman Ali admitted writing certain verses of the Koran in reverse as a way of casting a spell on neighbours, and that he said for the spell to be effective the brothers had to remain unclean and eat human flesh. Inspector Bhatti said: "During interrogation, Farman Ali admitted that he had written "certain verses of the Koran in reverse as a way of casting a spell on his neighbours",".

A local resident, Tanvir Khwawar, described changes in Farman’s behaviour after school, saying: "He was intelligent, and studied science in the 10th grade, whereas I was just an ordinary student who went for humanities." "But after the 10th grade, he gave up studies, and became increasingly secluded. We seldom saw each other after that."

In April 2014, it was stated that police had been hunting for Farman after the head of the 3-year-old boy was discovered in the home of the brothers in Darya Khan, Punjab province. Ameer Abdullah Khan told BBC: "They probably dug up his body from a grave, but the identity of the child and the graveyard from where his body might have been stolen is not clear,"

Police were also searching nearby graveyards to see if they had been disturbed.

Arrest

In April 2011, the brothers were arrested earlier in the week after police said they caught them making a meal of a corpse they had recently stolen from a grave. In April 2011, a court extended police custody of Arif Ali and Farman Ali. Inspector Abdur Rahman of Darya Khan police told the BBC: "We have charged them under the anti-terrorism act,"

He also said: "They have been produced in court in Sargodha today."

In April 2014, police arrested one brother, Mohammad Arif Ali, after residents complained of a bad smell coming from the brothers' home. The brothers’ home was raided, and the head of a 3-year-old boy was found. Police were conducting raids for the arrest of the other brother, Farman Ali.

Trial

During the 2011 case, in August 2013 commentary, it was described that the pair were sentenced to two years in jail for stealing a corpse from a grave and using it to make meat curry. Because they killed no one and because Pakistan had no law relating to cannibalism, the BBC described that the pair only served about two years in jail for desecrating a grave following their arrest in April 2011.

In August 2013, defence lawyer Rao Tasadduq Hussain said: "They are not insane, they are just fools,"

He was described as securing a minimum jail term for them, which he did successfully.

Sentencing

Mohammad Arif Ali and Mohammad Farman Ali were sentenced to two years in jail after they admitted to cutting up and eating the woman's lower limbs. They were jailed for two years after they admitted to cutting up and eating the woman's lower limbs.

They were sentenced under the law of desecration of the grave because Pakistan had no law relating to cannibalism.

Appeals

No appeal information was provided.

Outcome

Mohammad Arif Ali and Mohammad Farman Ali were released from prison in May 2013, which sparked protests in their town. Angry protesters set tyres on fire on a major highway in the area, blocking traffic for several hours. Police had to take the brothers into protective custody to prevent them from being lynched.

In April 2014, police rearrested Mohammad Arif Ali and searched for Mohammad Farman Ali after the head of a 3-year-old boy was discovered in their home. Authorities said Arif admitted cooking the boy's body parts into a curry. Police continued raids for the arrest of Farman Ali.

Aftermath

Tracking down the brothers after their release was described as difficult, with investigative coverage stating they kept a low profile.

Other details

Inspector Fakhar Bhatti described the evidence found at the house during the 2011 raid, including the cooking pot and utensils. He also said the body parts had been chopped off one leg below the knee and the other near the shin, while the rest of the body was intact, and that the curry was made from those parts, and that they got it analysed at a laboratory in Multan.

Inspector Bhatti also described the question of how the brothers entered the “macabre business” as police finding leads that the Ali brothers had been in touch with a man accused of being a sorcerer who locals caught stealing a body from a grave some years earlier. Inspector Bhatti said: "We couldn't follow up on that lead because the man disappeared without a trace,"

The BBC Urdu said police had extended police custody of the brothers and described they were charged under the anti-terrorism act.

The brothers were described in April 2014 as having previously served two years in jail for cannibalism and having been released last year. The April 2014 reporting also said that at the time of their 2011 arrest, local police said the two men had dug up more than 100 corpses from the local graveyard and eaten them.

During April 2011 reporting, a family member’s complaint and investigation led to the house of the brothers; police said they had cut a part of the corpse and were cooking it when police appeared. The other remains of the 24-year-old, who died of cancer, were recovered from the brothers’ residence.

In April 2014, it was stated that the 3-year-old boy’s head was found in the brothers’ home, that police arrested Mohammad Arif Ali and were searching for Farman Ali, and that police were searching nearby graveyards to see if they had been disturbed.