HYDERABAD: A young woman was brutally shot dead in an alleged Karo-Kari incident in Bhutto Chandio village near Khairpur, with the FIR revealing shocking details of the murder carried out in front of police and villagers.
According to the FIR lodged at Tando Masti Police Station on behalf of the state, a police party comprising officials, including police constables Riaz Ali Sheikh, Muhammad Rafiq Khanyio, and Mumtaz Ali Mahar, was on routine patrol in the early hours of April 10, when they received information near Faiz Wah stop about a woman being assaulted over allegations of illicit relations.
Acting on the tip-off, the police team reached the location near a shop in Bhutto Chandio village, where they saw four armed men and a woman standing by a mobile phone’s light. The suspects were identified as Qaisar Chandio, Pehlwan Chandio, Ghulam Abbas alias Baju Chandio, and Wali Muhammad Chandio.
The FIR states that Wali Muhammad allegedly declared the woman, identified as Khalida aka Rubina, wife of Rashid Chandio, as ‘Kari’ and ordered others to kill her. Despite police warning the suspects not to open fire, three men allegedly fired shots at the woman with pistols at around 3:30am, killing her on the spot. The suspects then fled under the cover of darkness.
Police confirmed that the victim, aged around 19 years, sustained a bullet wound to the chest and died instantly. Her body was shifted to the Civil Hospital Khairpur for a postmortem, while empty pistol shells were recovered and sealed from the crime scene.
The case has been registered under sections 302, 311, and 114 of the Pakistan Penal Code against the nominated suspects, and raids were conducted for their arrest. Police confirmed the arrest of two culprits from among the eleven supsects.
District & Sessions Judge Sukkur Manoo Mal Khagaija has taken suo motu notice of a viral video showing the killing of the woman and directed the Khairpur SSP to submit a detailed report within 48 hours.
Khairpur SSP captain (retired) Ameer Saud Ahmed Magsi termed the incident a crime against humanity and said police had arrested multiple suspects, including key accused Qaisar Chandio and Wali Muhammad. He added that further arrests are under way and the case is being monitored using modern investigative techniques.
Police officials said that 18 individuals present at the scene have also been detained for allegedly spreading fear and circulating the video on social media. The victim’s parents, however, said that their daughter was not a ‘Kari’ and that she had been abducted earlier.
They further accused local police of demanding a bribe for registering the FIR, an allegation now under inquiry on the orders of Sukkur DIG Nasir Aftab Pathan.
PPP MNA Nafeesa Shah condemned the killing and called for strict action against all those involved. The incident has sparked widespread outrage and once again highlighted the persistent threat of so-called honour killings and the urgent need for effective enforcement of laws to protect vulnerable women.
