Autopsy report reveals Pak dental student was raped, then murdered

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani dental college student, who was found dead in mysterious circumstances in her hostel room in Sindh province, was raped before being murdered, the final postmortem report has revealed.

Nimrita Chandni, a finalyear student of Bibi Asifa Dental College in Sindh province, was found dead on a cot by her friends on September 16 with a rope tied to her neck.

Her final postmortem report, which was issued by Chandka Medical College Hospital (CMCH) Woman Medico-legal Officer (WMLO) Dr Amrita on Wednesday, revealed that the girl was sexually abused before being murdered, the News International reported on Thursday.

According to the autopsy report, her death was caused by suffocation. Asphyxial signs caused by a ligature on the neck were seen during the autopsy.

"Such signs are produced either in strangulation or hanging and are to be ascertained through circumstantial evidence as corroborative at the crime scene by state investigation authorities," the WMLO said.

A DNA test confirmed the presence of male DNA profile indicated from semen residue on the deceased's clothes, whereas a vaginal swab tested positive for a forced sexual act, the report said.

A previous autopsy report, which stated it to be a case of suicide, was questioned by several medico-legal experts.

Experts and officials of the medico-legal section of the health department in Karachi believed that the earlier autopsy report carried many flaws and missed key facts. They said the ligature mark in picture was not due to a dupatta. The postmortem findings show suicide but ligature mark shows strangulation, the experts had said.

They also said it was also questionable as to how a fivefeet-tall girl managed to hang herself from the ceiling fan, which was 15 feet high.

Earlier, Larkana Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University's (SMBBMU) Vice-chancellor (VC) Aneela Atta Ur Rahman had claimed that the 25-year-old student committed suicide. However, her brother Dr Vishal, a medical consultant in Dow Medical College in Karachi, had said that the marks around her neck suggested that Nimrita did not commit suicide.