"Shabana was murdered at her flat after being stabbed multiple times"
A Pakistani transgender identified as Shabbir, also known as Shabana or Annie Khan, aged 35, was found stabbed to death at her flat in Karachi.
A case was registered against the unidentified suspect on Sunday, April 14, 2019, after the victim’s cousin, Allah Jevaya lodged a complaint.
Officers at Ferozabad Police Station further investigated the case after recovering the knife.
According to the police, Shabana lived alone at her apartment. She was found with stab wounds to her head, face, arms and various other parts of her body.
The attack left Shabana seriously injured, she was then locked in a room by the attacker which caused her to bleed to death.
Officers found fingerprints on the murder weapon and have sent it for forensic analysis.
Police officers also explained that Shabana’s hair was cut off and it was likely that it happened before the murder. They believe that the act was done to insult and punish the victim.
According to the Ferozabad SHO, it is likely that Shabana was murdered by someone she knew.
Currently, there is no evidence to suggest that Shabana was killed for being transgender.
Shehzadi Rai, an activist at transgender rights group PECHRA said:
“There is no information till now of the exact reasons behind Shabana’s murder. We suspect no personal enmity at this point.
“All we know is that Shabana was murdered at her flat after being stabbed multiple times in the head. We were able to inform her family on time to file an FIR and they registered the complaint against her murder.”
Shabana’s body was handed over to her family following a post-mortem. Her family took the body to their ancestral home in Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan for the burial.
Bindiya Rana, a leading activist of the transgender community in Pakistan, has spoken about the increasing number of violent incidents against transgenders in Karachi.
She said: “We are very disturbed over the rise of such incidents because our lives are at stake.
“We see that no security is being provided to the transgender community. Instead the Sindh government is simultaneously depriving us of our livelihood with the recent anti-beggary laws.”
Rana has also called for laws to be changed regarding the registration of FIRs in cases of violence against transgender people.
She stated that anyone within the transgender community should be allowed to file an FIR on behalf of a murdered community member.
This is necessary as transgender people are usually disowned by their families.
Rana said:
“Often we see that the family members of the murdered transgender person do not even wish to receive their bodies.”
“In Shabana’s case, her family came to the police station when informed and helped with the formalities.
“We wish to move forward with further action against the murderers of Shabana in the coming days, with the consent of her family.”
The FIR was registered under section 34 and 302 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of a common intention; Punishment of homicidal murder).
The investigation into the murder of Shabana continues.
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