FEAR stalks the lanes of Murad Memon Goth. The area’s inhabitants are still in grip of fear following the discovery of decomposing bodies of two of its children, nine-year-old Hajra and five-year-old Sassi. The bodies, one of them nearly half-eaten, were discovered next to the area police station. As a result, parents have stopped sending their children to school. And with no students, the Murad Memon Goth Girls School has been closed since February 24. Incidentally, the school is located right next to the police station as well.
“The school has been closed as since the killings, no girl student has turned up. Fear-stricken parents are not sending their children to the school as they are afraid of policemen”, Gul Sher, Sassi’s father said.
The tragedy began when the two minors went missing on February 20, while out collecting firewood. Family members of both the girls said the two minors used to collect firewood within the vicinity of their homes, which are quite close to the police station.
The Gadap police station is housed in a major portion of the veterinary hospital. Its remaining portion, which is inoperative, is also in the use of the policemen. Right in front of the police station is a graveyard and on its left, a girls school.
Beside the graveyard, hardly 200 yards from the police station, there is a residential block nearby, that also houses Hajra’s and Sassi’s families.
Hajra’s father, Shabbir Ahmed, who is a watchman in a cattle-pen, said that Hajra and Sassi often used to venture into the grounds of the veterinary hospital to collect firewood. Its main gate was often closed and the other gate, which opened inside the police station, was the only way in. There are large quantities of firewood is available to be collected.
Hajra’s maternal uncle Ghulam Ali serves as a police constable in the area police station which is why she didn’t hesitate going near the station.
Concern for the girls’ safety mounted when they did not return home by the evening. Panic ensued and a search for the young ones was initiated. But after all efforts failed, Gul Sher and Shabbir Ahmed went to Gadap police station and had an FIR registered against unknown people for the kidnapping of their girls.
However, much tot he surprise of the relative, the duty officer, SI Pawan Kumar flatly refused to lodge the FIR and he just put the complaint into daily diary that the girls had disappeared.
Shabbir Ahmed said: “The policemen told us to search the girls at Edhi home and other places. They said ‘where do you think they could go?’.”
Gul Sher, a tailor at a shop in nearby market, said: “We went to seek help of area influential personalities. We also went to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s area sector who influenced the police to register the case.”
The family also approached the area’s MPA, Abdullah Murad Baloch to pressurize the police. However, the police put a deaf ear on all the requests.
All efforts were made to exert a pressure on the police but to no avail. “We managed to get the cell phone number of the SHO Gadap Munir Phulpotto. We tried to speak to him and whenever a call was made, his guard said that the SHO sahib was with the chief minister,” Gul Sher said.
The bodies were eventually found after their decomposition filled the area with stench.
An axe and a rope, which the girls used to carry with them, was found beside their bodies. The body of Hajra had been gnawed at badly and one of her legs and pelvic flesh had been devoured by pye-dogs. Postmortem examination report did not establish rape with Sassi. Hajra’s examination could not be carried out as the flesh of her pelvic part had disappeared.
The bodies, found in the evening, remained lying there till midnight. By then news had spread like a wildfire and a mob was ready to break the police stations gates. MPA Abdullah Murad demanded the arrest of Munir Phulpotto and registration of a case.
But it was only after DIG Operations intervened that the FIR was registered. Lyari town police officer Ali Mohsin was assigned to hold an immediate inquiry and register an FIR and had Munir Phulpotto and SI Ishtiaq arrested for negligence of duty. He also detained other officials including Rao Tahir, a main suspect in the double murder.
Nevertheless, Mr Mohsin’s work was cut-short by the fact that Mr Phulpotto was posted on the recommendation of an influential personality in the chief minister house. As a result, the TPO Lyari, Mohsin was transferred the next day and was subsequently made OSD. An attempt was also made to transfer Mr Mohsin to Islamabad, but the Sindh police chief opposed this move.
It was only after the Sindh governor took an action in the case and suspended the TPO Gadap, SP Ahmed Khan Jamali, who was posted on the recommendations from a VVIP in Islamabad.
Abdul Baqi Rind, an investigator into the killing case of the minor girls said: “Most of the evidence was destroyed by the mob when bodies were found. We are investigating into the case and trying to find a clue to the killers.”
A senior police officer hinted at releasing the suspected officials as no evidence was found against them. Police do not have an answer about the killers of the two minor girls and the motive for their murders.
However, the tragedy took a very sad turn, just twelve days later. After the Gadap tragedy, that screamed through media headlines, MPA Abdullah Murad, 42, was gunned down along with his chauffeur Hanif Baloch on March 6, near his residence in Al-Falah. This despite the fact that his cousin, Nawab Baloch, along with his companions was in a jeep and following his car from some distance.
Mr Murad was elected from PS-127, was a popular candidate in his constituency and was instrumental in registration of the FIR in the Gadap tragedy.
The area people said that Mr Murad was always against the illegal business of digging and lifting sand (reti, bajri) in parts of Gadap Town, which were part of his constituency.
But, as things are in this country, police could not initiate a formal investigation into the MPA’s killing as the FIR (38/04), registered after three days, was sealed off.
It was later revealed by a senior police officer, on condition of anonymity, that Nawab Baloch and Abdul Ghani Baloch, brother of the slain MPA, in consultation with PPP’s local leadership, decided to register an FIR nominating chief of the Muttahida and the Sindh governor Ishrat ul Ibad.
Police refused and instead held talks with the grieved. Nevertheless, the complainant insisted that the words ‘killing was committed at the behest of the leadership of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement’ should be included in the FIR.
Abdul Razzak Raja, a member of PPP Sindh Council, and a possible candidate in place of the slain MPA, said: “The police registered the FIR on the behalf of the state against the unknown assailants. We will go to court for justice.” The PPP and MQM have since been invoved in political jostling.
And all the while that this political tussle takes place, the fathers of Hajra and Sassi, and children of Abdullah Murad are waiting for justice and the killers of their beloved ones to be punished accordingly.
FEAR stalks the lanes of Murad Memon Goth. The area’s inhabitants are still in grip of fear following the discovery of decomposing bodies of two of its children, nine-year-old Hajra and five-year-old Sassi. The bodies, one of them nearly half-eaten, were discovered next to the area police station. As a result, parents have stopped sending their children to school. And with no students, the Murad Memon Goth Girls School has been closed since February 24. Incidentally, the school is located right next to the police station as well.
