Sofia Farooq
Age: 22
Murdered: August 12–13, 2026
Place of residence: Juhapura, Ahmedabad
Country of origin: India
Children: -
Perpetrators: her father, Mohammed Farooq Nawabkhan (56), and her brother, Habil Farooq (38)

The 22-year-old Sofia Farooq worked as a receptionist at a hospital in the Juhapura district of Ahmedabad. Around three months before her death, a video in which Sofia could be seen with a male friend went viral on social media. Her father, Mohammed Farooq Nawabkhan, and her older brother, Habil Farooq, strongly objected to this. According to the police, they regarded her behavior and interactions with men as a direct affront to the family’s honor within their community.

Late in the evening of August 12, 2026, the father and brother took Sofia with them on a motorcycle. Habil had hidden an iron hammer in his clothing beforehand. On the way, he turned onto a remote, unpaved road near the village of Gheljipura in Sarkhej. There, Habil struck his sister three times on the head with the hammer while their father assisted him.

The two men then brought the severely injured victim and the motorcycle back to a public road near Samruddh Dairy and deliberately damaged the vehicle in order to stage a hit-and-run accident.

Habil subsequently went to the traffic police and filed a report about a traffic accident. He claimed that an unknown speeding vehicle had hit them from behind. Sofia was taken to Sola Civil Hospital with severe head injuries, where she succumbed to her injuries during the night of August 13.

During the investigation, the police found inconsistencies in Habil’s account. Camera footage showed no other vehicle at the time and location of the alleged accident, and the forensic examination of the motorcycle was also inconsistent with a collision. During questioning, his story fell apart.

At the beginning of September 2026, Mohammed and Habil were arrested and officially charged with murder and filing a false report.