Day: September 18, 2012

Karachi: The strangled bodies of a 75-year-old Fatima Bai and her daughter Shabana, 40, were found within Gulshan police remits on Monday night.

SHO Gulshan Rana Haseeb said that when information was received about the incident in Gulshan, a team reached the spot and found the victims in separate rooms.The police, after completing the formalities, moved the bodies to the JPMC.

During the investigation period, a man came forward and identified himself as the elder son of Fatima Bai and the older brother of Shabana.He said a dispute arose between his family and his sister’s former in-laws after Shabana’s divorce a few years back from her first husband, Azhar.

Only a few months back, Shabana had remarried and was living in Ghotki but would occasionally visit her mother.SHO Haseeb said that the women were strangled with a piece of cloth. Their watchman had been taken into custody for questioning. It is believed that the murder took place between the night of Sunday and Monday.A case was reported and investigation is under way.

Three die in road accidents

The younger brother of the Chairman of the Department of Mass Communication of the Urdu University, Dr Touseef Ahmed, died in a road accident on Monday.

Tanveer Ahmed, 50, was knocked dead by a hit-and-run vehicle in the Bahadurabad police limits while he was going on his motorcycle. Muhammad Yousuf, 70, died when a hit-and-run vehicle ran him over within the Gulbahar police jurisdiction while he was crossing the road. An unidentified motorcyclist who appeared to be in his 20s was crushed by a dumper near KPT Gate No 15 in the Jackson police area.

The News

BAHAWALPUR: An 11-year-old girl, who was kidnapped from Karachi, has reached Jalalpur Pirwala after escaping the clutches of abductors. Talking to The Nation, Muskan informed that she was playing outside her house when a woman Jano intoxicated, kidnapped and shifted her to Jalalpur Pirwala. As soon as, she came into senses, she found Jano and two other men around her. She was told she had been married to one of the men Habib. She said that Habib raped her for about eight months. Then, she was sold to another man Abid who was the resident of Jatoi.

Abid kept her in house and was used to go to his work after locking the door from outside. One day, she said, she managed to flee from the captivity and reached the shelter home established by Mukhtaran Mai, a renowned human activist in the area. Mukhtaran Mai told TheNation that she had received Muskan on September 2. She said that she had moved the court to get justice for Muskan. She said efforts are being made to contact with Muskan’s parents in Karachi.

The Nation

SHEIKHUPURA: The parents have demanded District Police Officer (DPO) Dr Haider Ashraf to arrange patrolling during school hours particularly around girl’s education institutions to stop the harassment of girl’s students.

Talking with “The Nation” here on Monday, they said that in front of girls academic institutions there stood vagabonds who usually hurled abusive language and teased passer-by girls. It is to be noted that due to this dismal situation, many parents have opted for discontinuing the academic process of their daughters.

The parents alleged that the matter had already been brought into the notice of City Circle DSP Mirza Qudoos Baig but he did not respond to the problem. The social circles and parents demanded the police high-ups to provide protection to school and college girl students. They also demanded effective measures to help the students continue their education.

The Nation

BAHAWALPUR: A woman was killed in Solling area on Monday allegedly by her husband after a quarrel over her alleged illicit relationship with a neighbour. The FIR accused Muhammad Ashraf of killing his wife Shahnaz Bibi by chopping off her head with a spade in her sleep early on Monday morning. Complainant Javeria Ashraf stated that there had been a quarrel between her parents before they went to bed on Sunday night. She said the suspect had accused her mother of seeing another man in the neighbourhood.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Javeria Ashraf said she had woken up in the middle of the night on hearing her mother’s screams for help. She said Ashraf had killed Shahnaz Bibi by the time she got off her bed. She said he later fled the house.Investigation Officer Javed Iqbal said a team had been formed to track down and arrest the suspect.

The Express Tribune

MANSEHRA: A teenager, who was allegedly gang raped last month, has retracted her earlier statement, accusing policemen of sexually-assaulting her during detention at separate police stations.

The 16-year-old Sophia, had testified before a judicial magistrate on August 6 that she eloped with Aquil*, who had promised to marry her. They went to Mansehra, staying at a hotel for three days. However, they were walking near a market, when the man disappeared. From there, she said, some policemen picked her up and took her to the city police station, where three of them allegedly raped her for three days.

Later, she said, they took her to the Kaghan Police Station, where she was again raped for two days and then sent to Darul Aman, Abbottabad. She added that during detention, the policemen tortured her physical and mentally.

A criminal case was registered against five police personnel at the City Police Station and the DIG of Hazara police suspended the SHOs of both the police stations.

After her disclosure, the Supreme Court took a suo motu action and ordered an inquiry into the case. However, after the transfer of District Judge Rafiq Shah, the process got delayed. But while appearing before the court of new District Judge Younas Khan on Monday, the girl backtracked from her previous statement.

While negating the claim she had made before the media and the judicial magistrate, she said she was not raped but was tortured physically.

In their application the girl’s parents had sought her custody. But she refused to go with her mother, accusing her of marrying her off to a man whom she didn’tn like. The court again sent her to Darul Aman, Abbottabad.

Meanwhile, District Bar Association Secretary Waqas Raza Khan Swati and Human Rights Forum president Saeed Mashhadi have termed the retraction of Sophia’s statement as the result of police pressure. They said that the police have been using pressure tactics against the victim and her family forcing them to take back their words. *Names have been changed to protect identities

The Express Tribune