Ahmedabad: Special prosecutor to handle Aisha suicide case

AHMEDABAD: Taking the Aisha suicide case seriously, the state government has appointed a special prosecutor to prosecute her husband Arif Khan Gafurji who is facing charges of abetment to suicide and domestic violence.
The state legal department on Tuesday appointed advocate Varshakiran Rao as special prosecutor in this case. She will be prosecuting Gafurji in the city sessions court.
In February, 23-year-old Aisha Makrani jumped into the Sabarmati after making a small video addressing her husband and making an emotional statement about why she was choosing to end her life. The incident had countrywide ramifications with the Muslim community leaders appealing to shun the practice of dowry and the All India Muslim Personal Law Board introducing a prohibitory clause in its Nikahnama format.
Before this, the sessions court has twice rejected Gafurji’s bail applications by rejecting his claims of being innocent. The court had mentioned that the transcript of Aisha and her husband’s telephonic conversation revealed that his accusations about the paternity of the foetus that the woman was carrying led her to leave her matrimonial home. The court termed it a very serious issue.
After Aisha’s suicide, her husband was arrested from Pali town in Rajasthan on March 1. He is from Jhalore and was on the run after hearing about his wife’s suicide.