‘Honour’ killing: CMCH doctor refuses to perform exhumation while fasting

Girl's body was supposed to be retrieved to ascertain cause of death

SUKKUR: An assistant professor of pathology at Chandka Medical College Hospital, Larkana, has refused to perform during Ramazan an exhumation in an honour killing case, causing delays in the case investigations.

The professor, Dr Manzoor Ali Shaikh was supposed to exhume the body of a teenage girl to ascertain the cause of death on the orders of the director-general of Health Services, Sindh. She was killed on June 11 after being declared 'kari' allegedly by her father and other family members in Sami Unnar village situated within the limits of Bakapur police.

The 17-year-old Hameeda alias Murk Abro had eloped with a man sometime in May this year. Her father, Ghulam Muhammad Abro, and uncles managed to find her and bring her back to their village, Sami Unnar, on June 11 with the help of some influential men in the area.

They killed the girl and buried her in a graveyard situation on the outskirts of the village.

Bakapur police SHO registered an FIR No. 19/2015 on behalf of the state and charged five men under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code. The FIR stated that Hameeda left her house with another man nearly 26 days before she was killed. She was forced to return on June 11 to her village where she was killed by her father Ghulam Muhammad, uncles Ghulam Nabi, Habibullah, Azizullah and cousin Abro. The police have managed to arrest Iqbal, Hameeda's cousin whom she was engaged with.

Following the murder, the health services official formed a five-member committee to exhume the girl's body and conduct post-mortem on the spot to ascertain the cause of death.

But the process was delayed when Dr Shaikh refused to travel to the grave site. He claimed that the weather was too hot and he could not perform his duties while fasting. Dr Shaikh has requested the authorities delay the exhumation until after Ramazan. Dr Shaikh was, however, unavailable for comments.

Bakapur police station SHO Muhammad Ameen Solangi pointed out that his constables are guarding the grave round-the-clock in this sizzling hot weather but the doctor is unwilling to travel two kilometres to the graveyard for a post-mortem.

"I dont know why the doctor wants to delay the process of exhumation?" he asked, before adding that they have arrested Iqbal. The accused confessed during interrogation, said SHO Solangi. "He said that he shot bullets in her chest as she was a 'kari'.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 2^nd, 2015.