–Protests held in various cities, including Karachi and Larkana, as Sindh govt requests judicial probe
KARACHI/LARKANA: Students, civil society activists and members of the Hindu community on Wednesday organised protests in various cities of the province, including Karachi, as the Sindh government requested the Larkana sessions court to hold a judicial probe into the death of Nimrita Chandani, a BDS final year student at Bibi Aseefa Dental College (BADC) in Larkana who was found dead in her hostel room earlier this week.
Protesters in Karachi staged a sit-in at Teen Talwar and carried banners inscribed with slogans calling for the provision of justice for Dr Nimrita.
A large number of real estate agents were among the protesters in a show of support for Nimrita’s father, who is a real estate agent.
The protesters termed it as “a murder of a student belonging to the Hindu community”, and also called attention to the riots in Ghotki this week over an alleged blasphemy incident, in which a Hindu temple was vandalised.
The main Clifton road was “partially” closed for traffic due to the protest.
In Larkana’s Chandka Medical College (CMC), a protest was led by JSSF President Zeeshan Mangrio and Zaman Naich.
A rally was also taken out from Tando Jam Agriculture University which marched to the local press club. It was attended by a large number of students. The protesters shouted slogans and alleged that the CMC administration was responsible for Chandani’s death.
Furthermore, a demonstration was held by the Students Action Committee of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (SBBUVAS) Sakrand. They demanded a transparent probe into the ‘murder’ and appealed the chief justice of the Sindh High Court (SHC) to take suo moto notice of the case.
JUDICIAL PROBE:
Meanwhile, the Sindh government has written a letter to the district and sessions judge of Larkana requesting for a judicial inquiry into the matter so that action can be taken on the basis of the report submitted to the home department. A deadline of 30 days has been set for the submission of the report.
The letter directed Larkana’s deputy commissioner and senior superintendent of police (SSP) to “extend all possible cooperation in the [conducting] of judicial inquiry”.
Nimrita Amarta Maher Chandani was found dead in a room of the Chandka Medical College Hostel (CMCH) on September 16 under circumstances that pointed towards an apparent suicide.
On information, the police rushed to the scene, recovered her body and shifted it to Chandka Medical College Hospital for a postmortem examination.
Nimrita was living alone in the hostel room and was preparing for the final year examination. She had some marks on her neck, according to the police.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Nimrita’s brother Dr Vishal, a medical consultant in Dow Medical College in Karachi, said that his sister did not commit suicide but was in fact, a victim of cold-blooded murder.
He said that the marks around her neck were not similar to those inflicted by suicide from hanging as claimed by the police, alleging that such marks were etched in the skin with cable wires.
She was laid to rest in her hometown in Ghotki on September 17.