KARACHI: The father of a housemaid who was found dead in a DHA house under controversial circumstances has lodged an FIR against the house owner’s son and employees for allegedly murdering his teenage daughter, it emerged on Wednesday.

The body of the housemaid was found hanging from a ceiling inside the house a couple of days ago. An initial autopsy report had suggested that it was not a case of suicide as the girl was subjected to a sexual assault before murder.

DIG-South Syed Asad Raza said that the Darakhshan police had registered the case on the complaint of victim’s father, Hira Lal, under Section 302 (premeditated murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code. He added that no one had been arrested so far.

The complainant father suspected that the house owner’s son or other employees of the bungalow might have killed his daughter to “hide something,” as per contents of the FIR.

“I have strong suspicions that the house owner’s son, Shahroz, or one or more of the employees of the bungalow might have killed my daughter to hide something,” alleged the father. He said he and other family members had talked with their daughter on the same day for more than half an hour and she did not express any anxiety or problem. Therefore, he said, his daughter had not committed suicide.

He said that as her daughter lived there, her safety was a responsibility of the house owners. Therefore, he demanded that legal proceedings be initiated against them.

According to the contents of the FIR, the complainant said that he is a tailor and lives in Tando Haider, district Hyderabad. Around 10 months ago, his daughter, Paria alias Maria, 16, was hired as house servant at a bungalow in Khayaban-i-Bukhari, Phase-VI and she had been living there permanently and had her own cell phone.

The father said that on May 12, at around 2pm, her daughter contacted them via phone call and she talked with him and other family members for around 45 minutes and did not express any anxiety or problem.

On the same day, at around 5pm, the house owner’s son, Shahzor, called him and asked to reach Karachi immediately as his daughter had committed suicide by hanging herself with a ceiling fan inside the house.

The complainant said he asked his brother, Ramesh, who lives in Mehmoodabad, Karachi to go there while he was also coming to Karachi. He said when his brother reached the said house, there was a huge crowd there and his brother “forcibly” entered the residence and saw that his daughter was lying dead on the floor inside the room.

The father said that when he reached the city, his daughter’s body was already taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, where her post-mortem examination was carried out. Later on, her coffin was taken away to their native place for performing last rites.

Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2024