Compensation money splits up Shazia’s parents


Rana Tanveer April 17, 2010

LAHORE: The Rs500,000 compensation money given to the parents of 12-year-old Shazia, who they alleged was tortured to death by her employers on January 22, has become a bone of contention between them.

The Punjab Government had issued the Rs500,000 cheque in Bashir’s, Shazia’s step-father, name. Nasreen, Shazia’s mother, married him after the death of her first husband. Sub Inspector Shabih Raza told The Express Tribune that Bashir was willing to split up the total amount between Nasreen and himself, but she was persistent on getting the full amount.

Bashir Masih approached the Lytton Road police station to register a case against four relatives of her wife, Nasreen, for kidnapping her. According to Sub Inspector Shabih Raza, Bashir accused Siddiq, Sharifan and their sons Allah Rakha, and Allah Ditta alias Dittu, of kidnapping Nasreen. On raiding their house, SI Raza found out that Nasreen had not been kidnapped.

Instead she had left her husband’s house and started living with her relatives. “Nasreen says that Bashir and her children pushed her out of the house and were now using the police to intimidate and force her relatives not to support her,” he added. Nasreen’s three daughters and one son are still living with Bashir along with his four sons and three daughters. The couple had hit a rocky patch before Shazia’s death but Raza said that “Shazia’s death had re-united them”.

After initial investigation, Raza said that Bashir merely wanted to register a police case in order to pressurise Nasreen and her relatives. “Nasreen intends to spend the money solely on her children from the first husband – Shazia’s siblings – while Bashir also wants half of the amount stating that he too looked after Shazia for four years,” Raza told The Express Tribune.

The sub inspector has asked them to appear before him on Saturday (today). While talking to The Express Tribune, Bashir Masih stated that he wanted to split the amount. He alleged that Nasreen’s relatives were only looking after her in order to get a share of the money. Shazia died at Jinnah Hospital on Jan 22, after allegedly being tortured by her employer, Advocate Naeem. However, the case was dismissed after initial investigations failed to prove murder chargers against the accused.

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