• Rickshaw driver had fled after woman passenger was killed in crash on Saturday night in Jamshoro
• Heirs doubt it was an accident, claim her purse and mobile phone were taken away

HYDERABAD/DADU: A probe into a controversial road accident leading to the death of a woman and alleged removal of her heart and kidneys during her postmortem examination was assigned to Hyderabad DIG Tariq Dharejo on Monday.

The woman, Mehak Mallah, 21, was killed when the auto-rickshaw she was travelling by was hit by a speeding mini-truck late on Saturday night. She was on her way back home from the Sindh University Society when the accident took place near the Institute of Sindhology along the Indus Highway in Jamshoro district.

Hours after the incident, SHO Zahid Jathial of Jamshoro’s B-Section police station, in whose jurisdiction the incident had taken place, had claimed that the rickshaw driver, Ahmed, had been traced out and arrested. He also claimed that the driver of the mini-truck was also arrested. On Monday, however, he disowned the statement attributed to him, saying: “The rickshaw driver could not be arrested so far, but another suspect has been taken into custody”.

He said that the family had approached the police for the registration of an FIR, “which is being registered”. However, it was not registered till the filing of this report late Monday evening.

On Saturday night, the police had transported the body to the Hyderabad Civil Hospital (Liaquat University Hospital) for a postmortem examination. The heirs and other relatives returned the body to the hospital’s administration soon after it was handed over to them, protesting that the heart and kidneys were removed without their consent. They also claimed that Mehak’s purse and mobile phone were missing. They approached the higher police authorities urging them to look into the matter and order a transparent probe into the episode, saying that they doubted it was an accident, in the first place.

Taking notice of their protest, Inspector General of Sindh Police Javed Alam Odho appointed DIG Tariq Dharejo to hold a fair and transparent probe and submit to him a detailed report covering all facts.

The DIG has also been told to record statements of the heirs and ensure their protection.

Speaking to Dawn on Monday, the DIG said that he had started the investigation, adding that one suspect was in police custody.

“The report of the medico legal officer regarding external findings is awaited,” he said.

Explaining the point raised by the victim’s relatives that “her vital organs including heart and kidneys were removed during the postmortem examination without their consent,” Police Surgeon Dr Wasim Khan told Dawn that “a postmortem examination is conducted and viscera preserved as per the relevant protocol’’.

Clarifying the position of the LUH medico-legal section, he said that the body was handed over to the section by police “as unclaimed”.

“Once the body is handed over to the MLO section, a postmortem is conducted as per the requirement and viscera were always preserved for determination of cause of death. If a body is brought by victim’s family, then their consent is sought for postmortem,” he claimed.

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2026