Pak authorities order judicial probe into Hindu girl student's death after family claims murder

Pakistani authorities on Wednesday ordered a judicial probe within 30 days into the death of a Hindu dental college student in Sindh province after her family claimed that the girl was murdered, according to a media report.

Namrita Chandni, a final-year student of Bibi Asifa Dental College in Larkana district and a social activist, was found lying on a cot by her friends on Monday with a rope tied to her neck. Her room was locked from inside.

Police is yet to ascertain whether the girl committed suicide or was murdered.

The Sindh government on Wednesday asked the sessions court of Larkana to hold a judicial probe into the death of Chandni, the Dawn News reported.

"Section Officer Aijaz Ali Bhatti wrote a letter to the district and sessions judge of Larkana, requesting that a judicial inquiry be held in the matter and submit a report to the home department within 30 days so that further action can be taken," it said.

Chandni's family has refuted earlier reports that she committed suicide and demanded a "transparent investigation" into the circumstances of her death.

Her brother Dr Vishal, a medical consultant in Dow Medical College in Karachi, told the media here that the marks around her neck suggested that she had not committed suicide.

He further claimed that the marks on her neck looked like those made by cable wires, while the wounds on her arms suggested that someone was holding her down, the report said.

Chandni belonged to Ghotki, the district which was in the news since Sunday after three cases against 218 rioters were filed for vandalising properties, including a Hindu temple.

Widespread protests erupted in Ghotki on Sunday after an FIR was filed against the principal of Sindh Public School on the complaint of a student's father who claimed that the teacher had committed blasphemy by his anti-Islam remarks.