KARACHI: Sindh High Court Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M. Shaikh on Saturday took notice of the murder of a 19-year-old girl by an influential person of the area in Jhangara-Bajara town near Sehwan and directed the investigating officer of the case to file a report in this regard.

Official sources said the chief justice took notice of the incident after it was widely reported in media.

The media reports said the area’s landlord, Khan Nohani, aided by his associates, allegedly gunned down Tania Khaskheli, a student of class-X, in her home after the girl and her family turned down his marriage proposal.

The SHC further directed the deputy inspector general of police of Hyderabad, the SSP of Jamshoro and the investigating officer to appear in court on Sept 19 along with progress report and relevant record.

The media reports also quoted the victim’s father, Ghulam Qadir Khaskheli, as saying that he was receiving threats of dire consequences after he raised voice over unjust murder of his daughter. Tania’s sister is also reported to have stopped going to school as the victim’s family fears threats to her life.

Police arrests suspect

DADU: Jamshoro police arrested on Saturday a suspect in the murder case of Tania Khaskheli.

A police team arrested one of the suspects, Moula Bux Nohani, after a raid on his hideout in mountains near Naing Sharif in Sehwan taluka.

Jhangara-Bajara SHO Mohammad Ali Khaskheli was placed under suspension on the directives of Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on charges of failure to arrest Khan Nohani, the main suspect in the girl’s murder case.

The chief minister also directed Jamshoro SSP Irfan Bahadur to arrest the SHO and interrogate him on the murder and the reasons why he had delayed arresting the main suspect.

Meanwhile, social activists and civil society organisations took out rallies in Dadu, Johi and Wahi Pandhi towns in protest against Jamshoro police’s failure to arrest Khan Nohani.

Jalal demands arrest of all suspects

Sindh United Party chief Syed Jalal Mehmood Shah has demanded the Sindh government should immediately arrest all suspects in the murder case of Tania Khaskheli.

It was tantamount to failure of the state and the Sindh government that even after passage of seven days the suspects nominated in the FIR had not been arrested, he said.

Talking to journalists after offering condolence to Ghulam Qadir Khaskheli on the murder of his daughter in Jhangara-Bajara town on Saturday, the SUP chairman said the poor were not safe even within the confines of their homes and feudal lords and influential persons were free to victimise them.

He said that it was one of the stark examples of failure of PPP government in the province that an innocent girl was killed by a feudal lord at her home in broad daylight but police did not dare lay their hands on the killer and his accomplices.

He said the law and order situation had worsened and there was no safety for the honour of the poor and women. It was prime responsibility of the state to provide security to the lives and honour of all citizens, he said.

Mr Shah was accompanied by party leaders Roshan Buriro, Mir Moula Bux Leghari and others during his visit to the victim’s family.

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2017