Woman beaten up, head shaved by landlord’s sons

Victim says around six or seven men barged into her house to take money from her son

KARACHI: A landlord’s sons allegedly beat up a woman and shaved her head before setting her house on fire in Thorhi Bijar village, Qambar-Shahdadkot district, on Wednesday.

The incident reportedly took place in the jurisdiction of Drigh police after a petty dispute over a pigeon flying competition.

According to the police, two teenagers - one the son of a poor farmer and the other the son of a landlord - brawled over the contest. The enraged sons and nephews of the landlord, Fazal Muhammad, beat up the farmer’s wife, who had tried to intervene.

Speaking to the local media, the woman, Kamalan, said that around six or seven men barged into her house to take money from her son. “When I stood up, they beat me black and blue and shaved my head to teach my family a lesson,” she stated. “Leaving the house, they set it on fire too.”

A video of her statement went viral, with human and women’s rights activists bringing the issue to the notice of Sindh police chief Mushtaq Mahar and Larkana DIG Irfan Baloch. Reaching the spot, Qambar-Shahdadkot SSP Imran Qureshi ordered an FIR to be registered against the culprits.

“This was an inhumane incident. We have arrested one of the accused and the others will be behind bars soon too,” he said.

However, Kamalan’s family has expressed concerns over the partiality of the SHO, who reportedly has close relations with Muhammad and his family.

“The SHO frequently visits them and we have no trust in him,” said Manzoor, Kamalan’s husband, adding that the landlord’s family was threatening them with dire consequences. “When my wife went to the police with her shaved hair in her hand, the SHO refused to listen. He only registered the case after the SSP’s visit,” he claimed, appealing for the case to be transferred to another officer. 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 26^th, 2020.