Court seeks Dr Maha case suspects’ DNA tests, final charge sheet by 9th

A sessions court on Tuesday gave the police five more days to conduct the DNA tests of the three suspects nominated in the case of alleged inducement of Dr Maha Ali Shah’s suicide and ordered the investigating officer to submit the final charge sheet on January 9.

According to the IO, the doctor may have been subjected to sexual assault before her death, and to confirm this, DNA tests of her former boyfriend Junaid Khan, Waqas Hasan and Saad Nasir, are required.

He told the judge that the suspects had been issued with notices to appear for the tests, but they ignored the instructions and did not show up. He made the request for more time to conduct the procedure, which the court accepted, giving him time until the next

hearing on January 9.

In the December 7 hearing the IO had filed a preliminary charge sheet against Khan and her alleged friends Tabish Yasin and Nasir, according to which, Khan, who is currently out on bail, used to torture her physically and mentally, due to which she had been suffering from severe anguish and had tried to end her life more than once.

She had killed herself with a 9mm pistol that she got from Yasin. Police found out that the weapon was licensed to Nasir, who told the investigators that he had sold it to Yasin. Both of them are in jail in judicial custody.

At the outset of the December 24 hearing, the IO had moved an application before the additional district & sessions judge (South) presiding over the case seeking more time to file the final charge sheet. He contended that the suspects had not been cooperating with the police to conduct their DNA tests, saying that they were summoned to the Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences in Jamshoro for collecting their samples but they did not show up.

He added that the final charge sheet will be prepared after the forensic examination report of the suspects’ mobile phones and their DNA samples’ report are received. He asked the judge to grant him more time to file the charge sheet.

The judge approved the IO’s request and adjourned the matter until Jan 5. The judge also issued orders to the suspects that they are to cooperate with the police. Dr Maha’s suicide had been reported on August 18. Her father Asif Ali Shah told the police that she had locked herself in the bathroom on the upper floor of their house in DHA Phase IV and shot herself in the head at around 11pm.

She had been rushed to the hospital, but she succumbed to her wounds during treatment. According to her post-mortem examination report, the bullet had entered from the left side and exited from the right. During the investigation, police found voice notes and chats in Dr Maha’s mobile phone that corroborated the allegation that she had been having problems with Junaid Khan.

One of the voice notes that she had sent to a friend was transcribed as: “I saw your message, but at that time Junaid had a severe fight with me and I could not understand anything, so I took Xanax and slept. You know what, I am having seizures. I am affected with epilepsy. I don’t know how it happened. Don’t tell [my sister] that I am talking to Junaid. I told her that we broke up long ago, but this guy has made my life hell. My mind is [messed] up...”

In another chat, Maha had sent a picture of her injured face to a friend, saying: “See, my boyfriend beat me last night. He also broke my teeth. I am exhausted.” She added that previously, because of Junaid’s abusive behaviour, she had tried to end her life by thinking of jumping off the building (where she lived away from her family), but she could not find a way to the rooftop because the door was locked, so she came back to her room and slept.

Another of her messages read: “Junaid and I had a fight again. I am not really feeling good. I will get mad by crying because of him. In the end, leave it. Today this guy will be my death.”