The authorities in Rawalpindi exhumed the body of Sider Arab, 17, Monday as part of an ongoing investigation on his murder apparently for honor.
Police said the Sider autopsy was carried out in the Pirwadhai cemetery by a team from the Holy Family Hospital, led by the senior medical officer, Dr. Misbahur Rehman. The Medical Board also included Dr. Arif Saleem, the Mortuorio Supervisor Muhammad Saeed and a hospital dispenser.
The body collected samples will be sent to the Punjab Forensic Sciences Agency in Lahore. The results are expected to determine the cause of death.
Preliminary results indicate signs of torture. Police sources said that the body of cider was swollen due to exposure to water, its tongue stood out and that the neck bones were broken. According to the reports, the burial site had been manipulated to erase evidence, despite the heavy rains on funeral day.
Read: The man kills the wife for ‘honor’
Police believe that Sidra could have been strangled in an alleged murder of honor. Hospital officials said that the Medical Board will present a report sealed to the court once the forensic evidence is completed.
Eight suspects, including the former president of the Council of the Union, Ismatullah Khan, have been arrested. Police say that the suspects exhibited “extreme brutality” and are now being presented to the court under special security. Researchers are looking for an extended physical prison for greater interrogation.
The second husband of Cider, Usman, and his father Muhammad Ilyas were taken to the cemetery for the formal identification of the body. Exhumation and autopsy were carried out under judicial orders.
Sidra had married her second husband, Usman, in Muzampharabad on July 12. According to judicial documents, he had appeared before a judicial magistrate days later, confirming that the marriage was consensual and claimed that he feared for his life. She also requested the court protection.
Usman gave the police shortly after his death and delivered the marriage certificate and support documents. His father Ilyas issued a video statement claiming that Sidra had been taken from his house by armed members of a local jirga, who promised a respectful farewell but killed her.
Police say that the burial of Sider was organized to hide the crime. CCTV images were recovered from the cemetery, burial tools and the charger that Rickshaw used to transport his body. The officials also found that the relevant burial receipt had been eliminated from the cemetery records.
The Jirga was allegedly led by Ismatullah Khan, former vice president of the Council of the Union and local merchant affiliated with PML-N. Party officials have publicly distanced themselves from him.
Researchers say that section 311 of the Pakistan Criminal Code has been invoked, ensuring that the case cannot be resolved in private and will proceed under state prosecution.
