Girl burnt alive, three siblings injured in Sukkur

Unidentified men set house on fire when victim, her siblings were sleeping

SUKKUR: A teenaged girl was burnt alive and her siblings received burn injuries when unidentified men set their house on fire on Saturday morning in Alif Shah Shaheed Colony, situated within the limits of Lakhidar police station in Shikarpur.

Marium, daughter of Badaruddin Shaikh, saw two men enter the house after climbing the boundary wall when she came out of the room to drink water. Before she could resist, the men caught hold of her and took her back to the room where her twin sister, Erum, elder brother, Barkat Ali and younger sister, Amber, were sleeping.



The men allegedly poured petrol on her siblings, set them on fire and managed to flee after locking the room from outside. Erum died on the spot, while the other three were injured.

The neighbours rushed to the house after listening to their screams and extinguished the fire. The deceased and the injured were shifted to Civil Hospital, Shikarpur. Marium was sent home getting first aid, while her sister and brother were referred to a hospital in Sukkur.



Talking to media at the hospital, the victim’s father claimed that his house was robbed a couple of years ago in which his neighbour, Ghulam Din Shaikh, was allegedly involved. The allegation of theft had sparked enmity between the two families, he said, adding that he suspects that Shaikh was behind the incident. No case was registered till the filing of this report.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 3^rd, 2016.