Pregnant Singer Killed By Audience Member For Refusing To Stand While Performing

A professional singer performing at a family gathering on Tuesday was shot and killed by an attending guest because she reportedly refused to stand up and dance.

Samira Sindhu, 28, who was eight months pregnant, decided not to stand up and dance during her performance at the aqeeqa ceremony (the Islamic tradition of the sacrifice of an animal on the occasion of a child's birth) of the sons of Niaz Junejo, the reader of a sessions court judge, held in a village near the city of Larkana, Pakistan. Some reports claimed she was six months pregnant.

According to a video shot on the night, Sindhu’s performance got a lot of praise from guests, who kept showering money on her — a traditional gesture followed the region to showcase appreciation or honor.

Three gunshots are then heard in the background, although the shooter is not seen. Sindhu is then seen sprawled on her back on the stage. Initially the guests seemed startled and confused by what had happened. However, soon some of them rush to the stage to help the musician, only to realize she has been fatally shot.

The video might be disturbing for some readers.

One local report suggests Sindhu’s husband was part of her singing crew, sitting behind her when she was shot. Sindhu was rushed to a hospital in the town of Chandka, Pakistan, where she was pronounced dead. A postmortem is pending on the body.

The prime suspect, Tariq Jatoi, one of the guests at the party, was arrested by Pakistani police, following the incident. The singer's husband, Ashiq Sammoo, reportedly told police Jatoi "threateningly ordered her to stand up and sing,” while holding her at gunpoint. When she refused to do so, he shot her.

“Samina declined to dance because she was pregnant, her refusal enraged the accused who then killed her,” Sammoo told a local news outlet, the Mail Online reported.

Jatoi, however, denied the allegations, giving a different account of the events. He said he was sitting in the front row when Sindhu was delivering her performance. When she was on her third song, Jatoi fired a round of shots in the air, one of which accidentally hit Sindhu, causing her death. Nevertheless, Jatoi has been remanded in police custody as an investigation is conducted into the incident.

Sammoo also told local news publication Samaa, the police were anything but cooperating. “The police beat up the other musicians of our team who were left behind and also snatched Rs. 35,000 ($536) from them,” he alleged, adding that even though the venue of the function was near the Kanga police station, he had to wait for a long time to lodge an First Information Report (FIR) against the suspect.

“SHO [Station House Officer] Liaquat Ali, who had drunk so much that he wasn’t in his senses, was present at the event,” Sammoo said. “We sat in front of the SP’s office at 2 a.m. with the body as no one listened. The next day, we sat in front of the press club.” Only when the case started getting media attention, did the police start investigating the incident.

The police said that a blood alcohol test will be carried out on the suspect. Sammoo has demanded that Jatoi be charged with double homicide as his actions caused the death of both his wife and his unborn child.

Just like many artists in Pakistan, Sindhu’s main source of livelihood was to sing at family functions, despite the fact that she had produced eight or more albums of Sindhi folk and Sufi music.

Sindhu’s death has prompted protests from several local artists. Some even demanded the two other men in the video be arrested too.