Redemption through Inspiration
Shoukat Masih, redeemed by inspiration through reading the book “Silakhon Kay Uss Par” (Behind the Bars) written by Arthur Wilson.
Shoukat Masih was incarcerated for on the charges of murder and theft and did 3 years in Jail. During the jail time he read the book written by Arthur Wilson, “Silakhon Kay Uss Par” (Behind the Bars) and made a wish to meet him. So, on the regular Sunday’s counselling and chaplaincy session, he met Arthur Wilson in the Jail.
Upon meeting with Arthur Wilson he confessed all of his wrong doings and asked him to help. He told Arthur that he read his book in which he got inspired by the transformation stories of the prisoners and asked Arthur to help him in that way too.
Shoukat told his story that how he got arrested and committed that crime. He told that He belongs to the very poor background and in very poor family’s financial conditions. He always wanted to become rich so he could adapt the better living conditions for him and his families besides the fact he was not so much educated. He started doing some little earnings for his basic bread and butter and was barely managing his expenses. In 2005 he got married, for the marriage he took some cash loan.
Soon after he got married he became more upset because now his expenses were doubled and he was earning very little amount and the loan. One day he made a plan with his sister and his cousin who were working at a house of a lady doctor who was very rich and was very old and ill. They made a plan to steal her gold jewelry and cash prize bonds.
So they murdered that old lady doctor and stole her jewelry of gold and cash prize bond worth of hundreds of thousands. No one came to know about the murder all people thought that lady had died of her natural death because she was very old and ill.
Even children of that lady didn’t come to know about the incident they thought that their mother had died her natural death because they all were living with their husbands in another houses and lady used to live alone. As they were very rich so the children didn’t bothered to check the house if anything was stolen from the house or not, they simply guessed that murder as a natural death and buried her.
Shoukat, his sister and his cousin started their life happily. Shoukat paid his debt and started his business of selling liquor illegally in his area. His brother in law, another sister’s husband also knew about that incident but never told anyone about the fact. He also used to do the business of selling liquor illegally in his area and now Shoukat and his brother in law became competitor in a same business. Due to the competition and eager to earn more money they started damaging each other in that business by getting each other’s customers.
One day Shoukat’s brother in law got arrested by the local police in charge of selling liquor illegally. Police as per their routine tortured him to get information about the other business holders of liquor in that area and forcibly asked him to become the informant. Police also demanded bribe in order to release him or not making case on him. But instead of giving them bribe he told police that he will give them a much bigger case from which police can get the handsome money. So he informed the police about Shoukat that he also do the same business and also informed about that incident.
Police captured Shoukat when he was making contact with one of his customers in selling liquor. When they brought him to police station and started torture. Shoukat confessed his crime to prevent the torture. Police then informed to the family of that deceased lady that their mother was not died of her natural death but it was a murder. When Shoukat confessed all about that incident police then filed a case against Shoukat and charged him with several offenses like selling liquor, Murder, theft etc.
According to Shoukat police kept him for 8 days in illegal detention and demanded a heavy bribe from Shoukat’s family which they were not able to pay at that time. Shoukat’s family hired a lawyer and filed an application against police that they have kept Shoukat in illegal detention on which court sent bailiff to recover him from the custody of police.
When those police officials saw the bailiff they filed some extra wrong charges and made a case on Shoukat to save their job.
It had been two years to that murder incident and police did not have any evidences except they dug that lady’s grave again and take her body for post-mortem report. However police had also inflicted illegitimate charges on him so they were not able to do any proper investigation. Police produced false witnesses to the court in which they put lady’s statement who was dead from the last 14 years.
On these false accounts from the police Shoukat got acquittal from all charges.
According to Shoukat, entering in jail was like he entered in the graveyard of the living people. He told that when he entered in the jail prison guards asked bribe from him to hand him his clothes and to write his name on the register etc.
He didn’t have any bribe at that time so prison guards put his name in the list of the low level prisoner who used to wash bathrooms etc. He told that the survival in the jail premises was only if we bribe the guards. They asked him to sweep the barracks, clean the toilets, message to wealthy prisoners, etc and etc. If he refuses to do any of the job appointed by police he got beaten by them. He felt really sorry and helpless when he used to see his wife coming to meet him in the jail along with his infant kids.
He never wanted his infant kids to see the jail premises. Due to his incarceration his wife and kids got financially disturbed even they were unable to afford the daily rations. When they go to see Shoukat in jail police asked them to bribe them in order to get Shoukat informed about his meeting time etc and etc.
Shoukat spent 3 years in jail where he realized that he has committed a crime and now he was away from his wife and kids. Now, he wanted Redemption from his sins and crimes he committed. He started reading books and going to the Sunday prayer meeting where he apologized to God. He read the book written on prisoners by Arthur Wilson Silakhon ky Us Par (Behind the Bars) in which he read about the stories of the transformed people and how they got redeemed. He made up a mind to meet Arthur and get counselling session.
On the regular Sunday meeting in jail he met Arthur and told all his story to him and confessed that he has committed a crime for which he feels guilty and sorry. Now he wanted help to get redeemed.
Arthur started his counselling sessions and started telling him about how to live etc.
Arthur visited his family on Christmas and gave Christmas gifts to Shoukat children and told them that these gifts has been sent by their father. Arthur managed for her daughter to get admission in a school. He also supported his wife in finding job and tried to manage their some of their family’s expense by donating them some money etc.
When Shoukat came out of the jail he didn’t have any place to live. He lived at his wife’s parent’s home and found job at airport as a trolley loader. Then he rented out a house near Airport and started living their life.
Now he is completely transformed person who does not wish to get money from the wrong way. He has three kids and earning happily. God has now blessed him with his own house.