Dr Maha's father claims prime suspects influenced probe into daughter's death

KARACHI: The father of 25-year-old Dr Maha Shah, who allegedly died of suicide on August 18, has claimed that two of the three prime suspects influenced the probe into his daughter's death.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, Syed Asif Ali Shah said the two men — Junaid Khan and Waqas Hassan Rizvi — worked with the doctors to have the medico-legal officer (MLO) changed when her daughter's body was sent to the hospital.

"Why did my daughter commit suicide? It was being claimed that Dr Maha was upset with her parents," he said, adding that he worked hard to ensure his daughter got good education.

The first to reach the hospital was Waqas [Hassan Rizvi], who identified himself as a technician. Then Junaid [Khan] arrived," he added. "Waqas and Junaid, in collaboration with the doctors, had the MLO replaced."

Fighting 'legal battle alone'

The grieving father said Dr Maha's family was in shock and "not in the right state of mind" due to her death. "We had gone to the village" afterwards, he added.

Claiming that his daughter was being blackmailed, he said: "My daughter is gone now but people should save their daughters from men like Junaid.

"He treated my daughter horribly," he said about Junaid, adding that the man physically abused her as well. "My daughter shared what happened with her with her friends.

"I will fight this legal battle alone," he added.

Bullet hole in bathroom wall

Speaking to Geo News after the press conference, Shah said police should arrest Junaid as soon as possible before the suspect "does something similar to other [people's] daughters".

He said the day the young social media influencer died, he and Dr Maha's sister had heard a loud noise from her room so they ran to check up on her. They stood outside her bathroom door and yelled her name before breaking it open. "She had fallen in the bathroom a couple of times before as well," he said.

The bullet, Geo News learnt from the crime scene, had been fired from the right side and hit the wall on the left, where its mark was visible.

"We called 15, the ambulance arrived and they took her" to the hospitals, Shah added.

Though satisfied with what authorities have been doing, he also appealed to higher officials to take notice of his daughter's apparent suicide.

'Whole racket' targets young girls

Earlier, on Thursday, Shah had said in a video statement that his younger daughter explained to him what had transpired with Dr Maha.

"Junaid's sister, Mehwish, was Maha's friend. It was Mehwish who introduced Maha to Junaid. Junaid used to threaten my daughter," he had said. However, he termed the reports of the man and his daughter's marriage as "baseless".

"It's a whole racket that makes innocent young girls addicted to drugs," Shah had said further.

Earlier, the senior superintendent of police (SSP) for investigation had said a famed dentist, who was named in the first information report (FIR), had been arrested. Raids were being carried out to search for and arrest the other two suspects named in the case, he had added.

No section to file case of suicide over

The FIR had been registered at the Gizri police station on behalf of her father.

As per The News report on August 27, Dr Maha’s father gave an application to register a case against three prime suspects for being responsible for his daughter’s death, following which the police on Wednesday registered "FIR No. 432/20 under sections 354, 337J, 506/34 against Junaid Khan, son of Asghar Ali, Waqas Hassan Rizvi, son of Zafar Jamil, and dentist Dr Irfan Qureshi, who works at the same hospital where Dr Maha was employed".

Shah had accused that the suspects of raping and injuring his daughter, getting her addicted to drugs, and severely harassing her to the extent that she chose to end her life.

'These three should be held responsible'

Dr Maha’s youngest sister, Fatima, had also concurred with her father’s statement, saying her late sister had extreme depression and anxiety and told her numerous times of her intention to die by suicide.

Fatima added that Dr Maha used to say she had "become so desperate that I will take my life and these three should be held responsible for driving me to death”.

Earlier the same day, the superintendent of police (SP) for investigation had said there was no section based on which a case of suicide could be filed but that action may be taken against anyone who led a person to choose suicide.

Legal advice was being sought from police officers and investigators following the petition to file a case, the SP had said.

—Additional reporting by Afzal Nadeem Dogar and Talha Hashmi