KARACHI: A court-ordered exhumation is taking place today in Surjani Town as part of the case into the death of 18-year-old Misbah, who her family says died after alleged torture.
Officials say the grave at Bashir Chowk cemetery will be opened in the presence of a civil judge and a judicial magistrate. After that, the body will be examined and a post-mortem done. Samples will be sent to a forensic lab so the cause of death can be pinned down with scientific evidence.
A special medical board is overseeing the process. The police surgeon Karachi is heading it. Additional Police Surgeon Dr Kamran Sheikh is the convener, with Dr Sadaf Haroon and Dr Muhammad Yasin on the board.
Misbah’s death was first reported on June 10. Police later registered a case against her husband, Shahryar Butt.
The FIR was lodged by her mother, Shehnaz, at Surjani Town police station. She alleged Misbah married by choice on March 19, but faced torture after the wedding. She also said Butt demanded a new motorcycle and dowry, threatened the family, and it later emerged this was his fourth marriage.
According to the complaint, on May 7 a woman told the family Misbah was in Malir, injured. Misbah called and said her husband had beaten her, thrown her out, and she had injuries to her head and other parts of her body.
Another woman later took Misbah to Surjani Town in an online taxi, and the family brought her home. She told them her husband had attacked her with a screwdriver and other objects.
The family took her to a private hospital. Her condition worsened overnight on May 8-9 and she died. The body was moved to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where doctors confirmed the death.
Police say the case is registered, raids are being carried out to arrest the suspect, and the exhumation and forensic report should give the investigation a push.
