Magistrate orders exhumation of girl stoned to death

SUKKUR: The Judicial Magistrate on Tuesday ordered exhumation of the grave of Gul Shama Rind, the 11-year-old girl who was allegedly stoned to death in Dadu over ‘Karo Kari’ allegations near her village in Shahi Makan. The girl was allegedly murdered on Nov 21.

The Judicial Magistrate, appointed by the District and Sessions Court Sukkur, ordered exhumation of the girl’s grave and directed the Sindh health department to constitute a medical board within 10 days to determine the cause of her death. It is suspected that her relatives Moulvi Mumtaz Leghari and parents, Bakhash Rind and Laila were involved in her death in some manner and another unidentified person had facilitated her burial. The police are also searching for other suspects in the gruesome murder. A local Jirga in Dadu’s Johi area had declared her Kari.

The DIG Hyderabad, Naeem Sheikh said the police have pleaded the court for physical remand of the alleged accused to carry on the investigation. Earlier they sought permission to exhume the grave to retrieve the body for an autopsy, said DIG Sheikh. Karo Kari is a major menace in Sindh like the other type of honour killings in rest of the country. In the current year, 58 women and 29 men have so far been killed by this odious tradition.