Teenage girl 'shamed on social media' commits suicide

A girl who took her life by hanging herself with a ceiling hook at her home in Sanghar district on December 2, was allegedly subjected to sexual assault, said the head of the hospital where her body was brought for examination.

Dr Fazal Mehmood Shah, Medical Superintendent of taluka hospital, informed the media on Tuesday that the preliminary examination of 13-year-old Urooj Kashmiri, a student of class seven, suggests that she ended her life out of distress.

However, he added, the conclusive postmortem report is still awaited. Kashmiri committed suicide allegedly after she came to know that a young man has posted her photo on the social media.

DSP Dr Muhammad Moosa Abro told the media that the B-Section police have detained Mehrab Khan Khoso but an FIR has not been registered so far.

He said Khoso claimed that he was friend of the deceased girl, however, the girl's parents alleged that Khoso used to pester their daughter. "Further investigation is underway," the DSP said.

Khosos always used to tease her on her way to school and while returning home, they added. Girl's mother said a day before her death, Khoso sent a message to Urooj through her younger sister, Kainat, saying that he had uploaded her photograph on social media.

The parents claimed that the cause of her suicide was that particular social media post. They said they are too poor to afford a lawyer or to pursue a case against Khoso.

The family is the resident of Sana Roshan Colony in Tando Adam taluka of Sanghar.