Relatives blame PCB for Pak woman cricketer's death

Relatives of seventeen-year-old Pakistan female cricketer Halima Rafique have blamed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for her mysterious death.

Halima was found dead in her hometown of Multan.

According to the Dawn, her relatives said that she had been driven to commit suicide by consuming acid after the PCB and the Multan Cricket Club (MCC) had dismissed the harassment charges she had levelled against Maulvi Sultan Alam.

The Maulvi had also filed for defamation damages worth 20 million rupees, which had left Halima disheartened.

In June 2013, Rafique and four other girls had accused the management of the Multan Cricket Club (MCC) of sexual harassment. At the time, a two-member committee investigated the allegations and recorded statements.

Three of the accusing cricketers had appeared before the committee and denied charges of sexual assault.

However, Rafique and another female cricketer who had made the accusations, had not appeared before the committee.

The inquiry committee had recommended that all five cricketers should be banned from playing all forms of cricket for six months with effect from October 23, 2013.