In a shocking incident that has sent ripples of revulsion throughout the city, Karachi Police have apprehended a 40-year-old man accused of desecrating graves and committing necrophilia (raping corpse). The arrest was made on Friday, August 9, following a tip-off from locals who caught him in the act at the Korangi graveyard in Karachi.
According to the police, the accused, identified as Salman Waheed, confessed to having sexually abused the dead bodies of four women. The most recent incident involved the grave of a 55-year-old woman who had been buried just the previous evening. Waheed was caught red-handed by locals, who handed him over to the police after giving him a beating.
The police have registered a case against Waheed under sections 297 (trespassing on burial places), 376 (punishment for rape), and 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Pakistan Penal Code. The complaint was filed by the son of the deceased woman, who discovered the desecration of his mother’s grave and the subsequent molestation of her body.
During interrogation, Waheed admitted to targeting fresh graves of women and exhuming the bodies to commit his heinous acts. The police also revealed that this was not the first time Waheed had been involved in such activities. He was previously arrested in 2016 for similar crimes in a graveyard in Korangi No.01.
In a related development, the Police Surgeon, Dr. Summaiya Syed, confirmed that Waheed was brought to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for a medical examination. The deceased woman’s body was exhumed, and a post-mortem examination was conducted. DNA samples were also collected from the victim’s son to assist in the investigation.
This disturbing incident is not an isolated case in Pakistan. There have been several reported cases of necrophilia across the country in recent years. In May 2022, unknown men dug out the corpse of a teenage girl and raped it in the Chak Kamala village in Gujrat. In August 2021, another incident occurred in the Thatta district, where the corpse of a 14-year-old girl was dug up and raped.
In response to the growing concern over necrophilia in the country, a writ petition was filed in the Lahore High Court in 2020, calling for stricter laws and policies to prevent such heinous acts. The petitioner, Syeda Izzat Fatima, highlighted the lack of specific laws to charge culprits involved in necrophilia and cited the case of Mohammad Riaz, who was accused of molesting 48 bodies in Karachi’s North Nazimabad Town.
The case has once again brought to light the need for stronger laws and stricter enforcement to protect the dignity of the deceased and ensure justice for the victims and their families.
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