A judicial magistrate in Karachi has ordered the exhumation of the body of an 18-year-old newly married woman and directed the formation of a medical board to conduct a post-mortem examination to determine the cause of her death.
The order was issued by the judicial magistrate (West) on an application filed by the Investigating Officer (IO) under Section 176 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
The court approved the request and directed that a board of doctors carry out the exhumation and submit its report by June 23.
The woman, identified as Misbah, had died at her parents’ home in Surjani Town. Her family later registered a murder case against her husband Shaharyar Butt.
According to the IO, Misbah was brought dead to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital after her family alleged that she had been subjected to assault at her husband’s residence in Khokhrapar.
The officer also produced the suspect before the court on Wednesday and sought an extension of his police remand for further interrogation.
He said that a screwdriver- believed to be the crime weapon- had been recovered on the suspect’s identification and would be sent for forensic examination. The officer added that investigators had so far confirmed two previous marriages of the suspect out of the three that had been reported.
Misbah’s mother, Shahnaz, filed an FIR [First Information Report] at Surjani Town police station under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
In her statement to the police, she said said that her daughter had married Shaharyar on March 19 of her own choice. She alleged that shortly after the marriage, he began assaulting her and demanding a motorcycle as dowry. She further claimed that the family later discovered that this was his fourth marriage.
Shahnaz told police that the family had initially not allowed a post-mortem examination after Misbah’s death. She alleged that the suspect continued to issue threats even after the burial, prompting the family to register the case.
