Case filed against stepfamily after Jauhar burns victim dies

Police have registered a case against the stepmother and stepbrother of a woman for their alleged involvement in her death after she was taken to the hospital with burn injuries from her house in the Gulistan-e-Jauhar neighbourhood.

Sharea Faisal police officials said that the woman identified as 36-year-old Kanwal Javed had suffered burn injuries at home on July 31, following which she was taken to the burns ward of the Dr Ruth KM Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi, where she breathed her last on Sunday.

Her father had earlier claimed that she committed suicide after dousing herself in kerosene over a family dispute. But her brother Abdul Qadir claimed that she had not committed suicide, and that her stepmother and stepbrother had set her on fire.

Qadir said that his sister had been unmarried and resided with their father, stepmother and stepbrother in Gulistan-e-Jauhar, adding that her stepfamily often beat her up and were not letting her get married. Following his complaint, police registered FIR No. 982/21 against the stepmother Tanvir and the stepbrother Moin Javed.

On the other hand, police said that they had recorded the woman’s statement while she was under treatment, and that she had claimed to have attempted suicide. However, police said that they were investigating the case from different angles. No arrest had been made until the filing of this report.