July 4, 2020

By Sagar Solangi 

JAMSHORO

On June 28, the deformed body of 25 year old Waziran Begum was discovered near the Indus Highway near the village Wadda Chachar in district Jamshoro, Sindh, but the news did not get any attention until a week later on July 4.

Details reveal that Waziran was first tortured by sharp objects with her hands tied,  and was killed with a blow to her head with a heavy object. Her body was dumped near the highway to make it look like a road accident.

Civil society activists and public on social media has been commenting on the murder and have termed it ‘stoning to death’ or ‘sangsar’. However there is no evidence that the woman was stoned to death as part of a tradition instead it seems she was killed with a stone or other heavy object after being beaten up.

The news went viral after a tweet by an eminent political personality of Sindh, Ayaz Latif Palijo, which surfaced online and caught the attention of several people.

Waziran seemed to have her hands tied up, and then tortured with sharp objects and sticks. Later she was killed with a blow to her head with a heavy object and was mercilessly dumped on the side of the highway allegedly by her husband Ali Bakhsh Chachar and his family.

The Chachar police and the Motorway police took the body into their custody and moved it to Sun Hospital, Jamshoro, for autopsy – the report of which is yet to come. Due to the unavailability of a female doctor at the Hospital, her body was taken to Syed Abdullah Shah Institute of Medical Sciences in Sehwan. After the autopsy, her body was handed over to her brother and father.

The family took the body to their hometown and placed it on the main road to protest against Waziran’s in-laws and husband for torturing and killing her. Her father, Gul Muhammad Chachar, told Voicepk.net that Waziran was married to Ali Bakhsh Chachar around five years ago but when he sent a marriage proposal for Waziran’s brother with Ali Bakhsh’s sister, it was then that they started torturing her regularly.

“They got furious when we sent a marriage proposal for my son with their daughter and started beating up my daughter and I also complained about this to the previous SHO Chachad police station, Ashraf Shahani but instead of filing a report, he took money from the accused and started threatening us,” he added.

 

Gul Muhammad has appealed for justice from the higher authorities.

“My daughter was innocent! She had nothing to do with the dispute in the family but was still killed brutally,” lamented her mother Ameer Zadi. “She was not just my daughter, she was also my son. My daughter’s murderers are at large and I demand the government to take immediate actions and treat the murderers the same way they treated my daughter for that is the only way I may be able to live in peace. I will never forget my daughter. I loved her way too much; she was always on my side and she will always live in my heart.”

The rest of the family is shocked too. Zohra the maternal aunt of Waziran, said her niece was pregnant. “They actually killed two persons, not one,” she said demanding serious punishment for the accused. “We are being threatened to take the case back or they will kill us too.”

“This is a poor man, a labourer, he does not have the kind of influence that is needed to get the matter resolved,” says Waziran’s brother in law (her sisters husband). “These people have been very cruel to my sister in law. And what are the sardars and waderas of the area doing about this? Not only is Gul Muhammad’s daughter killed, he is the one getting the threats too.”

He appealed to the Prime Minsiter and the Chief Minister to ensure justice. “We are still scared of the murderer who is at large. They must be arrested.”

He named three suspects including Ghulam Qadir Karim Baksh and her husband Ali Bakhsh, however he said that Ali Bakhsh had at one point said that his brother and sister had caused the murder to happen.

Meanwhile the current SHO of Chachar police station, Rasul Bakhsh Sheikh says he is yet to determine the cause of death as the autopsy report has not been received. But the police is interrogating the suspect and other accused.

The director of the Syed Abdullah Shah Institute of Medical Sciences Sehwan, Dr Moeen ud Din Sidddiqui said the body had marks and injuries due to torture and the face was deformed as if it was hit with a very heavy object.

“We have sent the forensic samples to Islamabad for further investigation and testing hence the complete report will be shared as soon as we hear back from them” said Dr Siddiqui.

The accused are at large while the police is still looking for them.

 

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