Protests were held in Karachi on Tuesday against the murder of a Sindhi Hindu girl in Larkana. Demands of justice for the deceased were made during the protest. Namrita Chandni, a resident of Ghotki town, was found dead in her hostel room locked from inside, while a piece of cloth was tied around her neck. The protesters were seen holding placards and shouting slogans demanding justice.

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'Namrita Ko Insaaf Do'

The aggrieved protesters chanted slogans such as “Namrita Ko Insaaf Do” and "Won't tolerate hooliganism". The deplorable conditions of minorities came to the fore when the horrific incident surfaced. While the protesters demanded better law and order situation in the region, the police downplayed the incident stating it as a case of suicide. Namrita’s brother Vishal Sundar claimed that the preliminary reports hinted that she was murdered. "It was not a suicide, suicide marks are different, I found cable marks around her neck. There are marks on her hand too. The marks are of cable but her friend had said that she found her with dupatta around her neck," said Vishal Sundar.

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Murder or Suicide?

Sundar denied that Namrita was facing any problem that could have triggered her to commit suicide. "No there was nothing like that, I myself had talked with her two days back. She was a brilliant student," said Sundar when asked about it. Sundar requested the citizens to support his family and demanded a fair investigation in the case. The death of Namrita was followed by an incident in her hometown Ghotki, where people had vandalised properties including a temple. 

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Cases of forced conversion

There have been several cases of forced conversion in Pakistan which has raised suspicion around Namrita’s death. According to a US-based Sindhi Foundation, around 1,000 young Sindhi Hindu girls, between the age of 12 to 28, are abducted and forcibly married after conversion to Islam. The actual number of forced conversion is estimated to be much higher than Pakistan's own human rights commission report revealing 7,430 cases of such abductions of Sindhi girls in Pakistan. Recently, the Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had lashed out at Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan amid the abduction of a Sikh girl in Pakistan.

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