Orangi tragedy: Father confesses to murder of three daughters

The trough was only 2.5 feet deep, yet the father claims all three girls drowned without making a sound. PHOTO: EXPRESS 

KARACHI: The father of the three girls, who were found dead in a water tank behind their house in Orangi Town, was arrested for their murder after he confessed to the crime.

The three sisters, aged between eight and 15 years, were strangled to death before their bodies were thrown into the 2.5-foot-deep water trough on October 15. Uzma, 15, and Sumaira, 12, had polio. The youngest, Nisha, also bore signs of the condition.

The father, Sher Mohammad, was a milkman and ran a cattle farm. The family moved to Karachi from Punjab around three years ago. The investigators suspected Sher Mohammad’s involvement but could not find any evidence. The girls died when their mother were away. The investigators had hoped to find some clues when she returned but she backed her husband leading the investigation to a dead end.

Sher Mohammad also confessed in front of the media at a press conference held by the Crime Range Police on Wednesday evening. He admitted that he killed his daughters but did not acknowledge or deny the rape of Uzma, the eldest. He said that he was saddened to see his daughters suffer from polio and fight with each other every day. “I was sick of seeing them suffer and fight with each other every day,” said Mohammad. “I even had sleeping pills. I don’t remember if I raped my daughter or not.”  According to SP Khurram Waris, the police were able to crack the case from a lead provided by the medical store situated near the house.

“The girls were given sleeping pills before they were murdered,” he said. When the police interrogated the medical store owner he said that Sher Mohammad had bought them a day before the killings. He finally confessed when the investigators confronted him about it.

However, Waris said that finding out which medical store the pills were bought from was a challenge, said SSP Waris. There was delay in arresting the father of Uzma, Sumaira and Nisha because the police were collecting evidence against Sher Mohammad. Waris added that they believed that he also raped the two elder girls and will undergo a medical examination today (Thursday) to confirm it.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 22^nd, 2011.