Allegations, fabrications : Octogenarian woman seeks protection from rivals

Says family responsible for sending sons to jail now demands water from her land .

KABAL:

First her sons and daughter-in-law were put behind bars for a crime they did not commit. Now, the family allegedly responsible for sending 80-year-old Bakht Meena’s loved ones to jail is allegedly using its influence and trying to bully her into giving up water produced by a spring on her land.

During a media briefing Sunday morning, the woman from Bacha Kaley of Dardyal, Kabal tehsil pleaded with authorities to intervene and protect her from her enemies.

“In early 2013, my daughter-in-law Bacha Hayat fled from our home and went missing,” she said. Eight months after the disappearance, Hayat’s parents had Meena’s two sons and other daughter-in-law put behind bars for three months, accusing them of kidnapping and murder.

The police later produced the dead body of an unidentified woman and buried her behind Meena’s house. “They claimed it belonged to Bacha Hayat and buried it without even showing the face,” she recalled. Meena added the rival family demanded Rs300,000 as blood money from her.

However, Bacha Hayat resurfaced 11 months after her disappearance and the police released all those detained for her kidnapping and murder. Ultimately, the issue was resolved with the help of a local jirga.

Meena told the media that Hayat’s family now wants to forcibly use a spring on her property. She claimed Mohammad Jan, Amjad and Khaista Bacha were using their influence and threatening her with dire consequences if she refused to let them take the water.

However, Amjad denied the allegations. He claimed Meena was simply “requested” to let them use the water and his family has not shown any force.

Khwendo jirga chairperson Tabassum Adnan raised a question over the authenticity of the police investigation in the kidnapping case. She asked how three people were jailed for a crime that never took place.

“How can the police bring an unidentified dead body and prove its identity without showing it to the relatives or conducting a post-mortem?” she asked. The chairperson demanded senior police officials launch an enquiry into the matter.

Shah Dherai police official Fazal-e-Subhan said neither Meena nor any other member of her family complained about threats made by the rival family. “If they file a case, it becomes our responsibility to give them protection according to the law,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 26^th, 2015.