Loralai deaths: Couple not stoned to death, autopsies show

Report says that murders took place in two locations.

QUETTA:

Autopsies carried out on the bodies of a man and woman accused of adultery has revealed that the man was shot twice while the woman was hit by a shovel or sharp object on the head. Both the man and woman died instantly.

The findings of the autopsies, released on Tuesday, contrasted with earlier claims that the couple had been stoned to death.

The couple were buried without funeral prayers in Loralai district, about 214 kilometres north of Quetta.

Talking to The Express Tribune Assistant Commissioner Loralai Miran Baloch, who was part of the team that had exhumed the bodies for medical investigation, said the man, Daraz Khan, and woman Ayat Bibi were not stoned to death. While adultery remained the motivation for the killings, the two were killed in different locations, he said.

Balochistan Levies have arrested six suspects, including one of the two local so-called religious clerics who issued the fatwa. A manhunt has been launched to track down the prime suspect Janan, husband of Ayat, who is believed responsible for the killings.

Judicial Magistrate Asmatullah Yousafzai, Assistant Commissioner Miran Baloch, Tehsildar Habibur Rehman Loni, Resaldar Major Sardar Abdul Atif Jogezai, Dr Kashif Mehmood and Dr Sadiqa carried out the investigation. The bodies were buried in two different places, less than a kilometre away from each other, and were exhumed by Levies personnel on Tuesday morning.

The 24-year-old woman’s clothes were found to be soaked in blood. “She was hit by a hard object, perhaps a shovel with sharp edges. There is a deep wound on her forehead near her left eye and she has a similar wound on the same spot at the back of her head,” Miran Baloch said, adding that she was buried without funeral prayers and coffin. There was no mark on the body indicating that she was stoned to death, he added. “She was buried again after funeral rites as the postmortem concluded,” he added.

“The man was shot twice in the head at pointblank range,” Assistant Commissioner Miran said.

Miran Baloch said Ayat Bibi was a mother of four while Daraz Khan was a father of five children. “Her husband, Janan, first killed Daraz Khan on the spot when he caught him meeting his wife while fetching water. His wife ran to his house and took shelter. After shooting Daraz Khan, he rushed to his house where his wife asked her family to protect her,” he said.

Balochistan Levies personnel have arrested six suspects, including one local cleric. Deputy Commissioner Loralai Waheed Kakar told the media that Balochistan levies personnel are carrying out raids to capture the culprits.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 19^th, 2014.