Headway in Dr Maha suicide case

KARACHI: Almost after the passage of one week when police had declared Dr Maha’s death a suicide, her family made startling revelations on Wednesday, accusing some of her friends, including one of her colleagues of raping and blackmailing her to an extent that in sheer despondency she was driven to the point of taking her own life. In another development, one of the prime suspects who was named in the FIR and accused by the deceased doctor has been arrested.

The father of Dr Maha, who committed suicide by a self-inflicted shot to her head at their bungalow in Karachi’s posh locality about a week ago, has alleged that his daughter was subjected to rape and extreme harassment by her friends, including a colleague doctor, forcing her to take the desperate step.

Dr Maha’s father, Syed Asif Ali Shah, had given an application for registration of a case against three prime suspects at the Gizri police station for being responsible for his daughter’s death. Following the application, the police on Wednesday night registered an FIR No. 432/20 under sections 354, 337J, 506/34 against Junaid Khan, son of Asghar Ali, Waqas Hassan Rizvi, son of Zafar Jamil, and dentist Dr Irfan Qureshi, who works at the same hospital where Dr Maha was employed. He alleged that the suspects raped Dr Maha, hooked her to drugs, and severely harassed her to an extent that she committed suicide.

Dr Maha’s youngest sister Fatima Ali Shah also concurred with her father’s statement, that Dr Maha was facing extreme depression and anxiety and told her many times of her intention to commit suicide. She used to say, “I have become so desperate that I will take my life and these three should be held responsible for driving me to death,” Shah narrated.

In the FIR, Maha’s father said that on his return to Karachi after Dr Maha’s funeral in native Mirpurkhas, his son, Syed Nad-e-Ali Shah and the youngest daughter Syeda Fatima Ali Shah told him about her four-year-long friendship with Junaid Khan. “Junaid while taking advantage of the friendship hooked her to cocaine and alcohol. He (Junaid Khan) also used to beat and insult her in front of friends. In one of those thrashings, he broke Maha’s teeth,” reads the FIR. Maha’s sister also charged in the statement that “Junaid raped my elder sister after giving her drugs at his house leaving her tormented and distraught.”

It was “during this episode that my sister met with Tabish Qureshi, who also offered to marry her, but when Junaid Khan came to know about the proposal, he began to threaten her incessantly with exposure of the molestation, turning her (Maha) increasingly distressed.”

In her statement for the FIR, Syeda Fatima said that Maha confided the story in her colleague Dr Irfan Qureshi who also molested her under the influence of drugs at his house in Clifton. “Following this, she informed her siblings that Junaid Khan, Dr Irfan, Waqas Hassan Rizvi, and two others had messed up her life and are threatening to dishonor and kill the whole family.” Left distraught by repeated episodes of molestation and blackmailing, she insisted on committing suicide and held these five responsible for forcing her to the edge if that happens. Following the FIR, the police have arrested one of the three nominated suspects, Dr Irfan Qureshi, while the raids for the remaining four suspects are underway.Earlier, the police had already arrested two men who arranged a pistol for Dr Maha, and had been remanded in the case registered for providing her with a pistol.