‘The acid attack on the Satiyan jo Asthan caretaker was all about money’

All income from the sisters’ tombs goes to the caretaker.

SUKKUR:

Like most matters, even the acid attack on the caretaker of the Satiyan jo Asthan (abode of the seven sisters) boils down to money.

On May 10, unidentified men flung acid at caretaker Shoukat Khawajai who died on Friday at Civil Hospital, Karachi and was buried near the sisters’ tomb.

Sources claim that the dispute between Khawajai and the opposing party was because they both wanted to be the caretaker of the Asthan - a very lucrative position. All the income generated from the visits to the graves of the legendary seven women goes right into the caretaker’s pocket. It ranges from Rs50,000 to Rs75,000 a month.

The dispute between Khawajai and his cousin Abad Hussain Farooqi over who would be the Asthan caretaker started after the death of Bibi Badran, the wife of Nazar Hussain Farooqi, one and a half years ago. According to informed sources, Bibi Badran was a close relative of Khawajai and was the named caretaker after the death of Khawajai’s sister, Mai Nazan.

After Bibi Badran’s death, her maid Miran Katpar was temporarily made the caretaker. Sources said that since Miran’s appointment, Khawajai along with his wife started visiting the Asthan frequently as they claimed caretakership. Upon this, Azizullah Katpar, Miran’s close relative, had an argument with Khawajai, but the matter was resolved with the intervention of the Farooqis, the caretakers of Dargah Hazrat Sachal Sarmast in Khairpur.

Nazakat Ali, Khawajai’s elder son, told The Express Tribune that his aunt Mai Nazan was the caretaker of the Asthan and after her death, his father took charge. On May 9, his father was sitting at the Asthan when Azizullah Katpar came there and told him to quit as caretaker. When his father refused, he threatened him.

The matter was taken to the Rohri police and the then SHO, Tahir Mughal, who advised both sides to resolve the matter on their own because they were relatives. Both parties agreed to reconcile through dialogue and May 15 was fixed for the talks. “But before the talks could take place, the Farooqis threw acid on my father,” said Nazakat Ali. “The FIR will be revised after we get the death certificate.”

Khawajai retired from Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited in 2008 and since then, he started visiting historical places for research, he said.

Aftab Hussain Farooqi, who is a police inspector, told The Express Tribune that even though his name has been included in the FIR, he can produce enough evidence to prove his innocence in court. According to him, the former caretaker of the Satiyan jo Asthan, Mai Nazan, was his grandmother and it was wrong to say that she was Shoukat Khawajai’s sister. He said that his uncle, Sakhi Qabool Mohammad Farooqi, is the caretaker of the Dargah Hazrat Sachal Sarmast but being a government servant, he keeps a distance from such matters.

After the death of Mai Nazan, another woman from the Farooqi family was made caretaker and Shoukat Khawajai usurped the position, he alleged.

Nevertheless, he condemned the acid attack and said it was cowardly. “I or any other members of my family would not even dream of such an inhuman act.”

Meanwhile, other sources speculate that a third party could have taken advantage of the dispute and attacked Shoukat Khawajai to settle its score.

The Sindh archaeology department has deployed Imdad Ali to look after the Asthan now.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 28^th, 2011.