Police register complaint after girl’s murder at Edhi Home

The Boat Basin police on Thursday registered the case of a girl’s murder at an Edhi Home in Karachi. The complaint was filed by Sakina Akram, who also resides at the shelter located near the shrine of Sufi saint Abdullah Shah Ghazi in Block-4 of the upmarket Clifton neighbourhood.

In the FIR, which was registered under Section 302 (murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code, the complainant said she had been living at the Edhi Home since her childhood and had befriended Mahnoor*, who had also been a resident at the shelter.

Sakina claimed that Mahnoor got into a fight with another girl living at the Edhi Home, namely Shabnam. Sakina accused Shabnam of murdering Mahnoor and then leaving the shelter on the pretext of getting married.

SHO Pir Shabbir Haider said that on a petition pending at the Sindh High Court, the District South judicial magistrate-VI raided the Edhi Home, following a complaint against mismanagement at the shelter, where, according to Sakina’s statement to the judge, her friend had been murdered.

The police officer said that on Sakina’s complaint, the judge ordered registering a murder case, adding that the young complainant did not mention her age or her friend’s, while she did not even mention the date and time of the incident.

SHO Haider said that a case has been registered, adding that the investigation of the case has been transferred to the investigation wing to look into the matter.

The officer said that around seven girls, including the complainant, had been living at the Edhi home, adding that they had been handed over into the custody of the Social Welfare Department, as they had expressed their reservations and lodged a complaint against the mismanagement of the shelter.

*Name changed to protect identity