DADU: The investigation into the January 9 suicide by MBBS student Asmat Rajput has confirmed that the woman was forced to take the extreme action due to a long episode of blackmailing by a man, Shaman Solangi, along with his wife, son and some other associates.

SHO Ashfaq Ahmed Mangi of Dadu police station submitted the charge-sheet in the court of the second civil judge and judicial magistrate of Dadu.

Asmat Rajput, a fourth-year MBBS student of the Peoples University of Medical and Health Sciences for Women, Nawabshah, had committed suicide in her home on January 9 when Shaman and his wife, Naeema, visited the Rajput family in Ward-5, Sita Road town, and produced a “Nikahnama” pertaining to the marriage of Shaman and Asmat. However, Asmat had a couple of days back disclosed to her parents that Shaman and his family had been blackmailing her and extorting money for long on the basis of this fake Nikahnama. As such, Asmat’s family did not hand over her to the visitors. However, as soon as the Shaman family left the home, Asmat killed herself with a gun after leaving a suicide note.

The charge-sheet verified Asmat’s claim of blackmailing.

The investigation officer found that Maulvi Mohammad Idrees (who claimed to have performed the Nikah) was not a registered Nikah registrar and, as such, it was fake document. Evidence also proved that big amounts of money used to be transferred to Shamman’s bank account from that of Asmat’s as well as from other sources over a certain period.

The charge-sheet carried mobile data record regarding voice and text messages between Asmat and Shaman’s family.

The IO found that Shaman had sent copies of the Nikahnama to the university administration and her parents when she stopped making more payments to him. He was also threatening to upload the Nikahnama on the social media and repeated the threat when he along with his wife visited the Rajput family.

The charge-sheet stated that Shaman’s son, Faizan, and two other associates, Lakhmir Solangi and Imdad Solangi, were also involved in the blackmailing.

Besides Shaman and Naeema, Maulvi Idrees, Faizan and Lakhmir are in police custody but Imdad Solangi has escaped arrest so far.

Published in Dawn, March 14th, 2022