Family blocks Expressway to protest girl’s murder

Quratul Ain took a bullet for her brother, who was the target of three men trying to kill him.

KARACHI: As the slain leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) was buried in the city on Saturday, a teenaged girl’s body lay in the middle of the road as her family protested police inefficiency in apprehending her murderers.

Nineteen-year-old Quratul Ain was murdered in Manzoor Colony on Friday night when three men from the neighbourhood broke into her house. They wanted to kill her brother, Jehanzaib alias Tipu, who had a brawl with them earlier. Salman alias Ada, Faizi and Wadood opened fire at Jehanzaib but Quratul Ain stepped in to save her brother’s life. She took two bullets in the chest and died.

Her family complained that the police had not taken any action to catch the culprits. “Police registered an FIR only when we protested and around 70 to 80 people from our neighbourhood surrounded the Baloch Colony police station,” said 20-year-old Jehanzaib. The culprits have managed to escape by now and that is why the family placed Quratul Ain’s body in the middle of Korangi Expressway road in protest, he added.

“We won’t bury her until her killers are apprehended,” her mother cried. She was sitting next to the body under a tent with several women.

Quratul Ain’s maternal uncle was arguing with an MQM sector incharge as dozens of other men watched. “We are your biggest supporters,” he shouted. The body was lying on the road since 11 am and “no one came to ask what we were going through”.

The incharge, who requested anonymity, tried to calm the family members and called provincial minister Rauf Siddiqui. “Rauf bhai wants to talk to you,” he said, offering the phone but the family refused to talk to him. “What’s the use? He’ll say I feel your loss but the truth is that he is not here with us,” one of the relatives said.

Investigation Officer Ali Gohar Soomro said the police have registered an FIR (No. 450/10) and was doing its best to catch the murderers. “We’ve conducted raids and our police mobile units are still searching for the nominated men,” he said. Meanwhile, DSP Mehmoodabad Mohammad Ilyas said the police needs more time to solve the case. “We’ve asked the family to give us just two days and keep the body in a morgue until then,” he said. “If we don’t apprehend the culprits they can give us whatever punishment they want”.

Until this report was filed, Quratul Ain’s body remained in the middle of the road.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 7^th, 2010.