KARACHI: The brother of late actor and model Humaira Asghar Ali, whose body was recently found in a DHA Phase-VI flat in Karachi, arrived in the city on Thursday to take her remains back to Lahore for burial, confirmed South DIG Syed Asad Raza.
Naveed Asghar, her brother, came from Lahore and met South SSP Mahazoor Ali and Gizri SHO Farooq Ahmed Sanjrani. He informed them that he wished to take his sister’s body to Lahore to lay her to rest.
According to the DIG, the police have agreed to hand over her remains to the family.
Daily Magazine respondent talked to MLO on duty and Police surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed and she shared that samples for chemical analysis, DNA profiling, and cross-matching have been sent to the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) at the University of Karachi.
Since the body was no longer recognizable, blood samples from her brother were also collected for DNA verification. Dr. Syed said that the autopsy, which was given to the police on Thursday, states that the body appeared to be eight to ten months old. “There were no injury marks on the remains,” she added.
Earlier in the day, the Sindh culture department had offered to arrange Humaira’s burial if her family did not come forward, following reports that they had declined to claim her remains.
DIG Raza earlier told Dawn that when police contacted her family in Lahore, her father reportedly refused to take responsibility for the burial. This prompted several actors we know Sonya Hussain, Yasir Hussain, Yashma Gill and others to step forward, offering to take care of the funeral arrangements.
Later that evening, Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori also offered to take full responsibility for the funeral. A memo issued to the South police chief stated, “Should it be necessary, her funeral proceedings may be conducted at Sindh Governor House.”
As for the ongoing investigation, the South police chief said they are waiting for the chemical and histopathology reports to confirm the exact cause of death. He added that if anything suspicious is found, a case will be registered and legal action will be taken.
On the topic of a friend of the deceased sharing information online, the DIG noted that police have been trying to contact the woman but her phone has remained off. No one has reached out to the authorities so far.
Humaira’s body was found in her apartment in Ittehad Commercial, Defence Phase-VI, after police broke into the flat during an eviction ordered by the court due to unpaid rent.
Initially, it was believed she had passed away two weeks before her body was discovered, but police now believe her death occurred eight to ten months ago. Her remains were discovered in a severely decomposed state.