Cover up?: Teenage girl dies from burns suffered in ‘suicide attempt’

Family says Shazia, 15, had set herself on fire over brother’s refusal to forgive her.

LODHRAN:

A 15-year-old girl died on Monday night after remaining hospitalised for three days with burn injuries she suffered, according to her family, in a suicide attempt.

The girl had set herself on fire following her brother Tariq’s refusal to accept her apology over an alleged relationship with a neighbour, her family said.

Kehror Pakka city police said they had registered a case under Section 174 (suicide) of the Pakistan Penal Code. ASI Bashir Rehan said the body of Shazia, a resident of Sadiqwal village, was buried on Tuesday morning without an autopsy. He said police could not send the body for autopsy as the family had already obtained area magistrate Ghulam Mustafa Yazdani’s permission to avoid it. He said police raided the village after receiving a phone call by a resident who refused to identify himself.

To a question about possibility of murder, the ASI said they did not prosecute the family for murder as no such complaint was received by the police. “A suicide case was registered on the basis on information gathered from the witnesses and the neighbours,” he said.

Kehror Pakka tehsil headquarters hospital medical superintendent Dr Mirza Abdul Quddos told The Tribune that over 80 per cent of Shazia’s body was burned. He said he had referred her to Bahawal Victoria Hospital for treatment at their burn unit.

Shazia’s brother Tariq told The Tribune that the family had instead taken her to a private hospital in Bahawalpur where she remained under treatment until her death on Monday night.

Tariq said Shazia had set herself on fire on Friday night on his refusal to listen to her. “She came to my room and said that she wanted to apologise for keeping the family in the dark about her relationship with a neighbour,” he said.

Tariq said he had not realised that she had already doused herself with kerosene oil when she entered his room. “She just lighted a match stick and set herself on fire,” he added. He said he tried to put out the fire by covering her in a blanket. “My arm was injured in the process,” he added.

Tariq said he and Shazia had not been talking to each other for two weeks.

Aftab, another brother of the deceased, said the girl had been upset for several days over the family’s behaviour.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 29^th, 2012.