Sindhu murder case: Accused will be tried in military court: Larkana SSP

The Aamir Jatoi trial will also be referred, along with two others

SUKKUR: According to recommendations sent to Sindh IG by Larkana SSP, four cases, including the murder of Sindhu Soomro in 2014 and Aamir Jatoi in 2012, should be transferred to a military court.

In cold blood

Police claim that Sindhu, daughter of the late Hazoor Bux Soomro, went to buy biscuits from a shop near her house and never came back.

Her mother, Begum Khatoon, started looking for her in the neighbourhood soon after but did not find her. Later, she went to the police to register a missing person report for her daughter.

In the evening, the police received information of a suspicious looking man walking out of an abandoned house. The police reached the house with the girl's family to investigate and found her body buried under the debris.

The body was taken to Chandka Medical College Hospital (CMCH), Larkana , for autopsy and was handed over to the family for the burial. A doctor at CMCH said that the girl had been strangled to death.

Two men and a young boy accused of the assault and murder were arrested and are being tried at an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Larkana.

In 2012, three-year-old Aamir Jatoi was kidnapped for ransom from the Shaikh Zayed Colony. His body was found on March 13, 2012. The police managed to arrest five suspects who are currently facing a trial at an ATC.

The investigation

While talking to The Express Tribune, Larkana SSP Kamran Nawaz said that he had sent the IG a letter in which he had recommended that four cases pending at the ATC should be transferred to military courts. He added that two of these cases were related to the murder of minors. On Wednesday, three people accused of killing Sindhu were produced before the court for a hearing and were taken back to Central Prison, Larkana.

Threats and wedding bells

The Sindh education minister, Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, had promised Sindhu's mother that he would bear the expenses of her older sister's wedding and, on Wednesday, he sent the family cash and some dowry.

Sindhu's mother, Begum Khatoon, claimed that the minister had given them Rs60,000 along with a sewing machine, washing machine, iron, pedestal fan, clothes and shoes for the bride and groom. The wedding is scheduled to take place on February 4 this year, and the family is hopeful that Khuhro will attend.

While talking about her daughter's murder, she said the suspects were from an influential background and they had tried to persuade her to compromise. She added that once she refused, they started threatening her with dire consequences.  "A couple of days ago, the SSP came to our house and ordered that a police picket be set outside with two men on duty round the clock," said Begum Khatoon. "I will never forget or forgive my daughter's murderers. I demand that the government give them what they deserve."

Published in The Express Tribune, January 29^th, 2015.