Suicide or murder? The case related to the death of Nimrita Chandani, a final-year student at the Bibi Aseefa Dental College in Larkana, needs to be probed thoroughly by investigators. Instead, people have taken to the streets in Karachi, Larkana, Mirpur Mathelo and other areas, dubbing her death a murder case and calling for justice. They are quite justified to do so, given the culture and work ethics of police in Pakistan, which is good at burying cases instead of concluding them. In such circumstances the media, civil society and the executive’s intervention have kept the case alive. The Sindh government has requested the formation of a judicial commission to dig out the truth. The family and friends of the deceased Nirmita should help the commission in finding the truth by extending their cooperation. Similarly, other quarters should also refrain from speculating upon the matter so that the commission can work without any pressure. The case of Nimrita, however, sheds light on the condition of girl hostels of higher education institutions. Earlier, the death of Naila Rind, student of the Sindh University, rocked the country. The final year student of a masters programme was found dead in her hostel room. The ensuing probe declared her death a result of suicide and shut the case. The death of Naila Rind should have invoked a debate among the policymakers to make higher education institutions safe for all students, especially women. It appears that counseling – emotional, career, academic and so on – is not a Pakistan university word. Though little is yet known about Nimrita’s death, it is unfortunate that some elements are linking her death with violence against Hindus, especially in the backdrop of recent incidents in Ghotki and Mirpurkhas where mobsters struck their places of worship over an alleged blasphemy issue. Thankfully, the government sprang into timely action and took stern action against the mob. The public also stood by the Hindu community across the country. It is good to see normalcy prevailing over violence in Ghotki. Hopefully, the government will take appropriate punitive measures against those who vandalised temples and ensure a fair trial for the blasphemy suspect. *