Pakistani Medical Student was Raped before her Murder

The death of a Pakistani medical student caused outrage in Sindh over a lack of action. A post mortem report has now revealed that she was raped before she was murdered.

Chandka Medical College Hospital (CMCH) Woman Medico-Legal Officer (WMLO) Dr Amrita announced the news on November 6, 2019.

Medical student Nimrita Kumari was a final year student at Bibi Aseefa Dental College.

Her death was determined to be caused by suffocation after injury marks were spotted on her neck during the autopsy.

The autopsy report stated: “The ligature marks also tally with the information.

“Such signs are produced either in strangulation or hanging and are to be ascertained through circumstantial evidence as corroborative at the crime scene by state investigation authorities.”

The report also confirmed she had been raped as the presence of male DNA from semen residue was found on Nimrita’s clothes. A vaginal swab tested positive for a forced sexual act.

On September 16, 2019, 25-year-old Nimrita was found dead in mysterious circumstances in her hostel room.

Prior to a police investigation, Larkana Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University’s Vice-Chancellor Dr Aneela Atta Ur Rahman announced that Nimrita had committed suicide.

However, the Pakistani medical student’s brother, Dr Vishal, insisted his sister had been murdered as she did not have depression nor was she the sort to take her own life.

Nimrita’s death caused outrage with many calling for justice. People in Sindh started protests and riots in a bid to pressure the government into taking action.

#JusticeForNimrita started trending on Twitter. Social media users asked for accountability for her rape and murder. One user wrote:

“Ms Aneela, VC of Dr Nimrita’s university had claimed that she committed suicide even before the police investigation had started.

“But her final autopsy report revealed that she was subjected to rape before being murdered.”

Another person posted: “No matter what a woman face, she has to go through that character assassination phase. Dr Nimrita’s death has been proved as a murder after getting raped.

“That poor soul faced so much and even lost her life and we were busy in judging if it was a murder or suicide.”

The Sindh government later ordered a judicial enquiry into the matter and requested for a post mortem to be conducted by forensic experts.

The post mortem report has confirmed that Nimrita was raped before she was murdered, therefore proving Dr Vishal’s allegations.

A murder probe is being supervised by the Larkana District and Sessions Judge on the orders of Sindh High Court.

The murder investigation is still underway.