Boy strangulated playing with sister

Family says dupatta tied around 12-year-old’s neck choked him to death, police doubt statement

KARACHI:

A 12-year-old boy is said to have died of strangulation while playing ‘cow’ with his younger sister in Khudadad Colony within the remits of Brigade police station on Friday.

The deceased was identified as 12-year-old Abdul Samad. The teenager’s parents wanted to bury the child without the involvement of police or a post-mortem examination. However, police shifted the body to the Dr Ruth KM Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi for medico-legal formalities.

Abdul Samad’s parents told the police that the children were involved in a role-playing game where the boy played a cow while his younger sister used a dupatta as rope to lead him around. The two played the game during the sunrise meal of sehri during Ramazan.

Police sources said that the family wasn’t forthcoming regarding details as to why none of the elders came to the rescue of the child or why the younger sister didn’t alert the rest of the family.

The sources claimed that the Brigade police station SHO Agha Mushtaq Ali had tried to stop the post-mortem from taking place. However, Jamshed Town SP Zubair Tanoli and Ferozabad DSP Ahsan Zulfiqar ordered a full investigation and autopsy.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 25^th, 2023.