GUJRAT, June 5: Officials of the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Pakistan have started collecting information about the ‘accidental death’ of a Norwegian-Pakistani girl whose husband claims that she has actually been murdered by her parents. According to a report lodged with Rasool police Chowki on June 1, Raheela (20) was going by a car (LST-3964) to Rasool from Randheer village in Gujrat district to meet her relatives. Car driver Syed Kashif Basharat lost control over the steering due to overspeeding. As a result the vehicle plunged into the Upper Jhelum Canal near Head Khokhran, in Mandi Bahauddin.

Raheela died while the driver managed to swim to safety.

Her body was recovered after a while and handed over to her grandfather Mehar Ghulam Rabbani after autopsy at the Mandi Bahauddin civil hospital. She was buried at her ancestral graveyard in Randheer, in the limits of Dinga police station.

The Rasool police registered a complaint under sections 174 of the PPC which defines the incident as accidental.

Her husband Sani Ahmad Rizwan, also a Norwegian national, told Norwegian press and police that it was a murder. Oslo daily Sondag quoted him as saying that Raheela had married him against the wishes of her parents who also resided in Norway.

It further quoted him as saying that his wife had accompanied her parents to Randheer a few days ago to see her ailing grandfather.

Following his complaint, the Norwegian government took up the matter with the Pakistani government, seeking a thorough probe. Sources said that the Royal Norwegian Embassy also sent a letter to the Gujranwala range DIG, seeking his help over the issue.

The DIG sent the letter to the Gujrat DPO who forwarded it to the Dinga police station with a direction to immediately look into the matter.

The letter revealed that Raheela married Sani Ahmad Rizwan on Jan 15, 2004, to the opposition of her parents.

It said Raheela accompanied her father on May 28 last to Randheer to see her ailing grandfather. Rizwan accused his in-laws of killing his wife and enacting the drama of her accidental death.

Some officials of the Norwegian Embassy also paid visits to the district on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. They also visited Randheer village where they met her family members and area people to gather information.

Later, they visited Head Khokhran where the accident took place. They also tried to locate eye-witnesses, if any, but couldn’t. Later they visited the Rasool police Chowki where they made a movie of the car involved in the accident. Chowki incharge SI Tariq was not present on the occasion.

Police said they were waiting for the autopsy report. They said that the lady doctor of the Mandi DHQ Hospital had not given preliminary report as she was on leave.

They further said that a final report from the provincial chemical examiner was expected in a week.

About the car driver’s claim, police experts said that whenever a vehicle fell into the canal, it was difficult to open its door and come out.