KARACHI: In a horrifying case of domestic violence that has shaken the city, a 20-year-old newlywed woman is fighting for her life at the Civil Hospital Karachi after being brutally tortured and allegedly sodomised by her husband just two days after their wedding.
Shanti, a young woman from Lyari, was married to Ashok on June 15, 2025. What should have been the beginning of a new life quickly turned into a nightmare.
On the night of June 17, she was subjected to unspeakable physical and sexual violence at her husband’s residence, leaving her with life-threatening internal injuries.
“She is lying unconscious in our intensive care unit, deeply sedated and on ventilator support,” said Dr. Sabir Memon, Executive Director of the Trauma Center at Civil Hospital. “Her abdomen was severely infected and had burst. We had to perform emergency exploratory laparotomy and ileostomy. She remains critical.”
Before being moved to the Civil Hospital’s Trauma Center on July 4, Shanti was initially taken to Ankle Seria Hospital on June 20, then shifted to Lyari General Hospital as her condition deteriorated.
It was only after developing abdominal sepsis and multi-organ complications that she was finally transferred to the trauma facility under Surgical Unit 5, where further wound debridement surgery is being planned.
Her mother, Sona, recounted the horrific injuries inflicted on her daughter.
“My daughter’s body is covered with deep bite marks. Her wounds were filled with cotton. It was like she was mauled, not loved. What kind of man does this to his wife just two days after marrying her?” she said, demanding justice through tears.
The brutality, according to police and medical records, amounts to a clear case of marital rape and attempted murder.
A case was promptly registered at Baghdadi Police Station. Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Ali Raza, who is investigating the matter, confirmed the arrest of the accused husband.
“This is an open-and-shut case of unnatural sexual assault and extreme domestic abuse,” ASI Raza said. “We have registered an FIR under