QUETTA, Sept 1: Police exhumed on Monday night the bodies of two women allegedly buried alive in the Baba Kot area of Nasirabad district last month.

“Police opened up the grave pointed out by the arrested accused and two bodies were found,” DIG Ghulam Shabir Shiekh told Dawn.

Police cordoned off the area and arrested three people.

Sources said police opened up graves on indications given two of the arrested men -- Umaid Ali and Ghous Bakhsh Umrani --, but did not find any body was found in these places. Later the two spoke about a spot in Gopang Leri area. This time police did find the two bodies after opening up a grave in the presence of a magistrate and a team of leady doctors.

The victims were identified as Izzat Khatoon and Mai Siyani.

According to an initial medical report, the skull of one of the women was found broken and there were bullet wounds on the other body.

“The bodies were buried without shroud (Kafan) in one grave,” the DIG said, adding that it appeared to be a case of “Karo Kari”.

“I am hopeful that other bodies would also be recovered,” said DIG Shabir, who is heading the special investigation team. “Soon the mystery of the killing will be resolved and other people involved in it will be arrested.”

There are conflicting reports about the number of victims. Some sources said that three women were killed while others said two were killed and one had managed to escape.

“We cannot say anything about the number of victims till the completion of digging work,” police sources said.

A police team also visited Usta Mohammad town, from where the women were stated to have been taken away by armed men in a government vehicle.

According to the investigation, two girls and a woman had come to the town in the first week of July and stayed at a hotel near the house of Umaid Ali. The next day some armed men came to the hotel in a government-owned vehicle and whisked them away.Sources said that Umaid Ali had told police during the interrogation that a influential tribal was involved in the kidnapping.

PPP LEADER’S DENIAL: The Balochistan minister and deputy parliamentary leader of the PPP, Mir Sadiq Umrani, said that two women, and not five, had been murdered.

He told a press conference at his assembly chamber that Ata Mohammad Umrani, father of Izzat Khatoon, had named Umaid Ali and Ghous Bakhsh in a police report as his daughter’s killers.

The PPP leader said his family had nothing to do with the incident, accusing his rivals of propaganda.

He said the Sibi DIG and DPOs of Nasirabad, Jaffarabad and Bolan were investigating the matter and the federal government had also sent its team.

BHC TAKES NOTICE: The Balochistan High Court granted on Monday time to police and the Human Rights Commission to submit their reports relating to the murders.

The hearing was adjourned to Sept 22.

A divisional bench comprising Chief Justice Amanullah Khan Yasinzai and Justice Akhtar Zaman Malghani accepted applications of Jaffarabad DPO Nazir Kurd and HRCP (Balochistan chapter) vice-chairperson Malik Zahoor Ahmed Shahwani seeking time for submitting reports.

The chief justice had on July 16 taken suo motu notice of a newspaper report published on July 14 regarding the July 13 killings.