Verdict in nurse Shabana Akhtar’s murder case has been handed down.

An Anti-Terrorism court on Monday awarded death penalty to the main accused, and life imprisonment and seven years jail to two others accused of killing the 20-year-old nurse in May and then portraying it as a suicide in Gilgit.

“Besides the death penalty, the main accused, Nadeem Abbas, was also fined Rs0.3 million,” court sources told The Express Tribune.

In a short order released on Monday by ATC Judge Justice Raja Shahbaz Khan, Jamila Bibi, a hostel warden, was awarded life imprisonment while the co-accused, Ijlal Hussain, was sentenced to seven years in jail. However, the court acquitted the doctors who were allegedly involved in faking an autopsy report.

Shabana Akhtar, a young nurse from the Astore valley, was found hanging from a ceiling fan in her room at a Gilgit nursing hostel in May. Initially, police closed the case after a panel of doctors, headed by Medical Officer Dr Yaqoob, examined the body and declared it a suicide.

However, after the brother and father of Shabana rejected the post-mortem report and appealed to the chief justice of Gilgit’s Supreme Appellate Court for re-examination of the body by independent panel of doctors, the court took suo motu notice of the murder.

Consequently, the police launched fresh investigations into the incident which eventually led them to Jamila, the hostel’s warden, and Nadeem Abbas, a male nurse, who later confessed to killing the 20-year-old nurse.

The murder’s motive, police said, was an indecent video of Jamila that nurse Shabana had in her phone and was refusing to delete. Jamila confessed that in order to regain the video clip she managed to make Shabana unconscious and then got her raped by her accomplice.

After court orders, a team of experts from Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences [PIMS] Islamabad reached Gilgit and exhumed the body for re-examination.

“It was then revealed that she had not been subjected to autopsy before,” said an investigation officer.

On Monday, the court in its short order, however, acquitted the doctors.

In September, as the incident came to light, the health secretary and health services director were also handcuffed by police on court orders, as they had failed to take action against Dr Yaqoob who allegedly conducted a fake autopsy.

Published in The Express Tribune

Source (Pamir Times) GB police seem to have moved closer to resolving the death case of Nurse Shabana who, according to confessions of two arrested culprits, was raped, killed and then hanged, to stage a suicide drama.

According to details, a woman named Jamila, Warden of the hostel where Shabana was found dead two months back, and her accomplice named Abbas have confessed that they had killed and hanged Shabana, to make it look like a suicide case. According to the two held culprits, a watchman of the hostel was also involved in the murder case.

Jamila has, reportedly, told the police that Shabana was in possession of a video tape “related to her” which she wanted to obtain. To get the tape Jamila ganged up with Abbas, with whom she had illicit relationships, and killed Shabana. Before being killed, Shabana was also, reportedly, raped.

The police have now decided to dig the grave of Shabana and examine her body. A team of doctors from some other part of the country will be called in for the body examination.

It is pertinent to note that earlier medical reports had declared the death of Shabana to be the result of suicide. Family members of the Shabana, including her father and brother, had rejected the report and accused the police department and DHQ authorities of concealing the facts.

The new revelations may, finally, lead to exposing the culprits who killed Shabana and those who tried to hide the facts, creating hindrances for delivery of justice.

The death had taken place inside the midwifery hostel of the District Head Quarter Hospital, Gilgit, one of GB”s largest medical facilities.

Source (Pamir Times) A trainee Nursing Assistant, who was found dead hanging from ceiling of her room at the District Headquarter Hospital, Gilgit, was being harassed by three of her male colleagues. The male colleagues used to send her profane and threatening messages on her cell phone.

These revelations were made by police investigators in Gilgit, based on the information obtained from the 22 year old Nurse’s cell phone. The cell phone record has also revealed several leads that may help resolve the mysterious case of  nurse death.

According to reports a draft (unsent) message in the cell phone of nurse was marked for her father, in which, she had also disclosed name and location of a male colleague who used to harass her and also, allegedly, tried to blackmail her. “…. if anything bad happens to me in my life, Jarrar Hussain from Amphary (name of a place in Gilgit city) will be responsible”, she had reportedly intended to tell her father. That the message was written but unsent may mean anything, including possible momentary lack of credit to the lack of courage, faced by many in a patriarchal society like that of Gilgit – Baltistan.

Police have also found profane and threatening messages in nurse cell phone from two other numbers.

Jarrar Hussain and another man have been arrested while the search is on for a third alleged accomplice.

Coordinator of Pakistan Human Rights Commission, GB, has said that the police investigation is being watched and all efforts will be made to ensure justice.

Source (Pamir Times) A nurse has committed suicide by hanging herself by the neck from ceiling of her room. She was living at Female Nurse Hostel of the region’s biggest heal care facility, for the past 2 years completing her training to become a Nursing Assistant.

The 22 year old nurse belonged to Chongra Village of Astore District, Gilgit – Baltistan.

There are some reports which declare the nursing trainee of be ‘mentally abnormal’. However, it is pertinent to note that similar tactics are also used to cover up cases of murder.

Public circle have expressed shock on the issue while also demanding fair investigation of the incident, to ensure justice.