The incident happened near Shama ground area in the limits of Satellite Town police station. Parents and sister of 21-year-old deceased, Fahmeeda Laghari, daughter of Intezar Laghari, held a press conference on Thursday and blamed the university’s top officials for ignoring her complaints of harassment. The body’s postmortem was carried out at civil hospital Mirpurkhas.
Meanwhile, the DIG Mirpurkhas Capt (R) Faisal Abdullah Chachar has formed a three-member committee to probe the matter. Headed by SSP Syed Fida Hussain Shah, with SP headquarters Mir Aftab Hussain Talpur and ASP Quratulain as its members, the committee will have to complete the investigation in 10 days.
The police officers have been tasked to dig into the facts surrounding the incident and to investigate involvement of any individual or official which compelled the student to take her life. The committee will also identify systematic or procedural lapses besides recommending legal and disciplinary action.
Chancellor Dr Syed Razi Muhammad told the media that the university’s principal had received a verbal complaint from Fahmeeda but instead of taking any action he had asked her to submit a written complaint. He lamented that the complaint against lecturer Abid Lighari, and student, Abdullah, did not reach his office.
The university suspended the teacher as per the notification issued by vice chancellor Dr Shamsul Arfeen Khan.
The Sindh culture minister Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah contacted the bereaved family and assured them of his unflinching help in conducting an impartial investigation of the incident. Reportedly, he asked IG Sindh Javed Alam Odho and DIG Mirpurkhas to ensure that if any person is found involved behind her suicide, he should be punished as per the law.
The Sindh Minister for Women Development Shahina Sher Ali also took serious notice of the incident and asked the department’s Deputy Director Tariq Waheed and Assistant Director Fozia Jamali to assist the family. The minister asked the police to conduct a holistic investigation.
Meanwhile, the bereaved family tried to register an FIR at the Satellite Town police station. Accompanied by some senior lawyers, who volunteered their services, the parents visited the police station but the case cannot be lodged till the filing of this report.