Girl’s body dug up, raped in Thatta village
PHOTO: FILE
An alleged necrophile raped the body of a 14-year-old girl on Saturday after digging it out from the grave in which she was buried on Friday.
The gruesome incident happened in village Molvi Ashraf Chandio in Mirpur Sakro taluka of Thatta district.
"When my brother and cousin went to the grave today [Saturday] around 7am in the morning, they saw the grave open, and the body missing" said Ramzan Chandio, father of the girl who died due to fever and low blood pressure on Friday. "Moments later some boys who had gone to work in the fields came back to the village shouting that they have seen a body in the bushes," he said.
Ramzan told the local media that they immediately informed the police which shifted the body to the taluka hospital for medical examination. The corpse was returned to the family for the burial.
According to the father, the doctors said the body was raped. He suspects a resident of his village, Rafique Chandio, with allegedly notorious background of selling moonshine liquor and molesting children. "I have told the police about the suspect but they have not even tried to question him because he is politically connected," Ramzan claimed.
"He used to sell liquor and narcotics and he moves around openly due to the support of SHO Gul Hassan Kachar," he alleged.
The opposition leader in the Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Sheikh reached out to the village and condoled with the bereaved family. He assured them that he support the family to get justice for their daughter.
Sheikh, who is also vice president of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, demanded that Rafique, his associates if any and the SHO should be nominated in this case. Quoting the family members, Sheikh said Rafique's ring was also found with the dead body.
"The whole humanity feels ashamed. A criminal has raped dead body of a young girl." He reiterated that the Sindh police are involved in the sale of gutka, mainpuri, moonshine liquour and narcotics, how they could control crime.
According to him, he spoke to the medical superintendent Dr Sikandar Shah who seemed certain about the rape. But the medical report is still awaited.
Sheikh also met SSP Thatta Dr Muhammad Imran Khan who assured him that the police will lodge FIR according to the complaint of the deceased girl's family. "Registration of FIR is their right," the SSP said. Khan denied that the SHO Kachar has been posted in the jurisdiction from a long time as claimed by the affected family.
The opposition leader requested the SSP to meet with the deceased girl's father and grandfather alone. "The presence of any local influential person will deprive them of a fair hearing," he emphasized.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 15th, 2021.