Second postmortem of deceased housemaid ordered

HYDERABAD:

Following the death of a housemaid, who was employed in the residence and clinic of some doctors in Latifabad, a second postmortem was conducted by a board formed on a court's order on Monday night. The postmortem report is expected to provide insights into the cause of death, initially claimed to be a suicide by the deceased housemaid’s employers, 20-year-old Abdul Rehman Samejo.

In response to protests from Samejo’s family, the B-Section police registered an FIR on March 16 against Dr Muhammad Naeem Babur, his wife Mehwish Naeem, and her brother Dr Saddam Chohan. Civil Judge and Judicial Magistrate Rehana Ahsan ordered the Sindh Health Department on Monday to constitute a board for another postmortem of Samejo, in response to a petition filed by his father, Malook Samejo.

Read: Judge's wife arrested on court orders in housemaid torture case

During the hearing, concerns were raised about the manner in which the initial postmortem was conducted, implicating the nominated suspects, police, and the doctors who performed the autopsy. It was alleged that the accused had moved the deceased's body to the hospital without informing police, an act considered tampering with evidence at a crime scene.

Moreover, it was argued that the family's consent, a legal requirement, was not obtained for the postmortem. According to the complainant in the FIR, Habibullah Samejo, an uncle of the deceased, he was informed about his nephew's death via a call from Dr Saddam.

He was asked to collect the body from Hilal-e-Ahmer Hospital in Latifabad and was informed that his nephew had allegedly committed suicide late on March 15, around 11:30pm, by hanging himself on a wall-mounted hanger in a washroom. Habibullah objected to the postmortem being conducted without the family's consent.

The initial postmortem report indicated that the cause of death was strangulation, resulting in airway blockage, asphyxia, and cardiorespiratory failure. It also noted the absence of any signs of violence on the body. The accused have reportedly been granted bail. The civil court is scheduled to reconvene on March 21 to hear the case.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 20^th, 2024.