MIRPURKHAS: The body of Dr Maha Shah, who allegedly committed suicide at her residence in Karachi’s Defence Housing Authority (DHA), was exhumed for a fresh autopsy on Thursday.
A five-member medical team exhumed the body in her native hometown after being granted permission by a sessions court in Mirpurkhas. The deceased’s father, Syed Asif Ali Shah, had moved a plea before the court seeking a fresh medical examination of her body to ascertain the actual cause of her death.
Police had initially said that the doctor allegedly committed suicide by shooting herself in her home. Later, police filed a case against Junaid Khan, Waqas, Dr Irfan Qureshi and two others on the complaint of her father who claimed that they had abused and intoxicated his daughter.
On Thursday, the Sindh High Court (SHC) granted pre-arrest bail to suspects Junaid Khan and Waqas Hasan in the case. Both had approached the court to obtain pre-arrest bail after it was revoked by a sessions court.
According to the police, the suspect had subjected Dr Maha to mental and physical torture, threatened her and lured her into using drugs which led to her death. Her family claims that Dr Maha had told them that she was being threatened with dire consequences and that she had told them that she would end her life.
The suspects had sought pre-arrest bail saying that they wanted to face the trial court’s proceedings but feared being arrested by the police. After the preliminary hearing of their applications, the SHC granted them pre-arrest bail and directed them to appear in the trial court.
On September 21, Khan and Hasan had escaped from the city court after their application for interim bail was rejected. The two men fled in a rickshaw while the investigating officer could do nothing to stop them and was suspended. Following the incident, Dr Maha’s father expressed fear that the suspects might leave the country.
