MUZAFFARABAD (Kashmir English): The Azad Kashmir Prime Minister, Faisal Mumtaz Rathore, has ordered a formal inquiry against senior police officers and health officials of Jhelum Valley district for allegedly declaring the Javeria Zubair murder case a suicide and closing the file without proper investigation.
Javeria Zubair was found dead in her room on November 21, 2024, in the Qaziabad area of Sharian, Jhelum Valley.
Her in-laws declared her death natural, but the deceased’s grandmother noticed signs of violence near the deceased’s neck and informed her son.
Subsequently, the deceased was taken to District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital, Hattian Bala, where a post-mortem was conducted. The doctor declared Javeria’s death a suicide.
However, 11 months after her burial, a high-level medical board formed to investigate Javeria’s case declared her death a premeditated murder.
According to the official notification issued on Wednesday by the AJK Services and General Administration Department, the competent authority has approved the appointment of Deputy Inspector General of Police, Sajjad Hussain, as the Inquiry Officer.
The notification stated that the inquiry pertained to the case of Javeria Zubair, who was killed in Jhelum Valley on 21 November 2024, but the incident was declared a suicide by the local police and other investigative bodies.
Her father, Zubair Bukhari, a resident of Jalalabad, Muzaffarabad, had appealed to the authorities for a transparent and independent investigation, accusing officials of mishandling the case.
The notification added that the action has been ordered against SP Jhelum Valley Mirza Zahid Hussain, DSP Jhelum Valley Raja Abdul Khaliq, Inspector Crime Branch Syed Hammad Kazmi, SHO City Jhelum Valley Chaudhry Naveed-ul-Hassan, and Sub-Inspector City Jhelum Valley Chaudhry Bashir.
Dr. Mashal Maqbool, along with the administration of DHQ Hospital Hattian Bala, Jhelum Valley, will also be included in the inquiry.
The officers are accused of wrongfully ruling the murder a suicide and filing the case without a proper investigation, it stated.
The notification further mentioned that the Inquiry Officer may get the assistance of doctors and experts as required and will submit the report to the competent authority within 15 days.
