The girl who was smothered to death in Punjab’s Toba Tek Singh was allegedly sexually assaulted before the murder, her brother and brother-in-law have claimed.

In their statements, they claimed that they were receiving life threats. “Hands and legs of Maria were tied. They had tied our daughter’s abducted,” she said and claimed that they warned them against speaking anything.

The daughter-in-law was also seen in the viral video.

The killing — which according to the police occurred on the night between March 17 and March 18 – was recorded on a mobile phone camera and the video went viral on social media.

The video shows the accused smothering the victim, Maria, by pressing a pillow on her face for three minutes as she lies on a charpoy. Her brother Faisal and father Abdul Sattar were accused of the murder.

According to the police, the incident happened in Chak 277 JB, Toba Tek Singh.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz took notice of the incident and ordered police to “immediately” arrest the culprits.

According to DPO Ibadat Nisar, the case was registered on the complaint of police and samples have been sent to the PFSA lab. But the victim’s brother claimed that they were not making him a complainant in the case.

Several locals in the area demanded strict punishment for the perpetrators.