Stage dancer killed on her doorstep

Victim was a plaintiff in two cases under the Hudood laws

CHAK JHUMRA:

Unidentified people shot dead a stage dancer on the doorstep of her house and injured a 12-year-old boy In Sargodha Road area.

The 29-year-old stage performer, Sehrish Bibi alias Nida, used to perform at theatre and private family functions.

She was also a plaintiff in two cases under the Hudood laws.

Unidentified people knocked at the door of the victim’s house at dawn. Sehrish opened the door and got shot at in the chest.

Twelve-year-old Abdullah, son of Amin, was also injured in the firing.

Police took possession of the body of the artiste, shifted it to the hospital for postmortem and started searching for the unidentified accused.

Rescue 1122 shifted the injured to the Allied Hospital.

A case was registered against the accused under the provisions of murder and attempted murder on the statement of the victim’s husband, Irfan.

In November 2016, another stage actress, Kismat Baig, was shot dead by unidentified men in Lahore.

The actress had been travelling with her guard when unidentified motorcyclists opened fire at her car at Harbanspura, near the Palki Wedding Hall. Baig had received eight bullets while her guard received one. She had been admitted to the Services Hospital.

Read  Woman allegedly raped by intruders

Kismat Baig’s murder had shaken up Lahore’s artiste community.

Shot eight times by unidentified men on her way home, Baig was amongst a long list of stage actors who have suffered similar fates, including Sangum Rana, Yasmeen, Karishma Shah, Naina Nagina Khanum and Nadra.

Baig had ventured into the industry while living out of a rental in Harbanspura with her two children, aged mother and sister Sitara. The family was in dire straits and barely had any money or food to support itself. Theatre was a quick solution Kismat and Sitara opted for, hoping to make ends meet.

As luck would have it, both sisters went on to become one of the highest-paid dancers in Lahore.

Kismat, in particular, became known as the “dancing doll” of the city, performing in theatres across the region, including Faisalabad, Multan and Gujranwala.

Little by little, the dancer had built up her assets and eventually managed to purchase properties in some posh locales of Lahore.

She also released a few CDs of her performances and was in the middle of negotiations to work in Pashto films as well.

After the incident, Kismat was rushed to the hospital where she died.

Her secretary and bodyguard Ali were also injured after receiving one bullet each but managed to make a statement for the media.

As per his memory, the attackers said, “We’ll hurt you so bad that you’ll never be able to dance again” before opening fire.

This was not the first time Kismat had been attacked. She had reportedly confronted a similar episode in Faisalabad some time ago and had been living in fear ever since.

News of the murder had exacerbated the insecurity within the actors community in Pakistan.

Most cases of slain dancers are yet to be solved, and it is not just female artists who are being targeted.

Earlier, another stage actor, Hassan Khan, was tortured by suspects in Lahore’s Gulberg area. A case was registered against unidentified suspects following his brother’s complaint.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 16^th, 2022.