HYDERABAD: Forensic Molecular Biology Laboratory for DNA Testing at the Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS) has confirmed detecting particles of male DNA on the clothes worn by minor housemaid Fatima Furiro, who was found dead in mysterious circumstances at a pir’s mansion in Ranipur on Aug14.

“Mix male DNA profile was obtained from semen/stains on the clothes of the deceased housemaid, which was preserved for further matching,” said the report issued on Nov 7 with signatures of three forensic DNA analysts and one technical consultant. The report has been dispatched to secretary of inquiry committee of Sindh health department.

The LUMHS lab’s result clearly gives the lie to findings of the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) in Karachi University which revealed that “no human male DNA was detected from nail scraping taken from nails (left hand) of Fatima. Therefore, no further DNA analysis was conducted”. The ICCBS is run by Sindh health department.

The victim’s samples taken after exhumation of her body in Khairpur Mirs under judicial orders were first sent to LUMHS laboratory where the DNA testing process had been started but was terminated suddenly after health department officials, who were part of the medical board constituted by Director General Health Services Sindh, decided to shift the samples to the ICCBS.

“The LUMHS lab had already detected the presence of ‘male DNA on the housemaid’s clothes before the samples were shifted to the ICCBS,” said a university official.

He said that now this sample was required to be matched with those of the suspects and it would take place only after the suspects had been brought to the lab.

“But it was never done despite a lapse of two months until an inquiry committee was formed by caretaker health minister Dr Saad Niaz and the LUMHS lab was once again asked to re-commence the DNA testing process,” said a lab official.

The health minister, who had ordered inquiry into ‘possible lapse of important evidence in the case’ during the transfer of the victim’s samples, and called for recommencing the DNA process, did not attend the call, nor did he respond to text messages on Whatsapp, requiring him to disclose whether the inquiry he had ordered had been completed.

LUMHS vice chancellor confirmed that the findings of the university’s lab had been sent to the secretary of the inquiry committee which was probing the matter at departmental level. “But the suspects are not brought to our laboratory for matching the DNA samples with the male DNA detected on the girl’s clothes,” he said.

The lab’s in-charge had sent a communication on Oct 12 to Khairpur Mirs SSP, asking him to provide “samples of all suspect persons of Ranipur’s high profile Fatima Furiro murder case” after the inquiry committee had asked the lab on Oct 10 to recommence the DNA testing process. But the suspects were not brought to the laboratory.

Caretaker law minister Umer Soomro had recently claimed at a press conference in Karachi that the DNA samples of Pir Asad Shah, prime suspect in the murder case of housemaid, matched with the semen particles obtained from the victim’s clothes during the DNA process at a Punjab laboratory.

When Khairpur Mirs senior superintendent Dr Samiullah Soomro was asked to confirm the minister’s statement through a WhatsApp text message, he replied that “DNA did not match and everyone already knew that”. The SSP didn’t attend the call despite repeated attempts.

The ill-fated nine-year-old housemaid was serving at the mansion of Pir Asad Shah, the prime accused in the case, after her mother handed over her to Asad’s father-in-law. All the accused including Asad, his wife, father-in-law and others, were behind the bars.

Fatima daughter of Nadeem Ali Furiro died mysteriously during the night of Aug14-15. Later, her mother Ms Shabnam lodged an FIR and the exhumation took place under judicial orders following registration of her case.

Published in Dawn, November 10th, 2023