Dua Zahra’s medical report to be submitted to court tomorrow

karachi: The ossification report of Dua Zahra will be presented before the court on Monday, said Dr Saba Sohail, head of a medical board tasked with ascertaining the age of the girl in her abduction and underage marriage case, said on Saturday.

The 11-member medical board conducted a medical examination of teenager Dua Zahra, who had mysteriously gone missing from Karachi in April but later declared that she had run away from her home to marry 21-year-old Zaheer Ahmed, at the Services Hospital in Karachi following the court’s directives to ascertain her actual age.

The medical board was formed by the Sindh Health Department. Prof Saba Sohail, principal of the Dow Medical College, Karachi, was appointed head of the panel that also comprises Dr Sikandar Rafique Qureshi, head of the Radiology Department at the Lyari General Hospital, Dr Rani, consultant radiologist, and seven other medical experts as its members.

The board conducted different tests on her bones, including her wrist, ankles and teeth, and her weight and height were also determined. Last week, a District East judicial magistrate had given the health secretary seven days to decide Kazmi’s application calling for a medical board to be constituted to determine his daughter’s age because he insisted that she was a minor.

Plea for changing IO

A sessions court on Saturday dismissed an application moved by Dua Zahra’s father seeking removal of the investigating officer in a case pertaining to her alleged abduction and underage marriage.

Additional District and Sessions Judge-IV (East) Muhammad Mehboob Awan announced the verdict he had reserved after hearing arguments of both the applicant’s lawyer and the state prosecutor.

Mehdi Ali Kazmi, who is the complainant in the case, moved the application under Section 22-A and B of the Criminal Procedure Code, seeking a direction for the additional inspector general of police of Karachi and the SSP of District East to change the IO, DSP Shaukat Shahani.

The judge said the applicant’s plea for replacement of the IO at this stage was not justifiable as the controversy over the age of the girl was yet to be resolved by the medical board and the investigating officer could not interfere with the record or opinion of the panel.

“Thus, the instant application is bereft of merits at this stage and is accordingly dismissed,” he said.

Earlier, lawyer and civil rights activist Jibran Nasir, who represented the applicant, had argued that the incumbent IO was incompetent and appeared to be biased. He had said the complainant’s family had no faith in the officer. The officer filed the final challan insisting that no case of abduction was made out and sought cancellation of the FIR based on the girl’s statement despite knowing that her age was yet to be determined, he pointed out. If she was below 16 years of age, her statement or consent would be immaterial, the counsel said, questioning how anyone could expect a fair investigation from such an officer.