Banking on guesswork? Killers of teenage girl burnt to death remain at large

Police speculate she was raped; Hazara DIG asked to act immediately

ABBOTABAD: The police have yet to find the unidentified men who burnt a teenage girl alive – she was inside when the culprits set ablaze two vehicles in Abbottabad on April 29.

However, officials speculate she was raped and was three-months pregnant.

National Assembly Deputy Speaker Murtaza Javed Abbasi has taken notice of the matter and asked the Hazara DIG to ensure the perpetrators are found and taken to task.

Set ablaze

Eight vehicles were parked by the roadside in Makol Paeyen village when two of them were set on fire. When the flames were finally put out, villagers found the charred body of a teenage girl in the backseat of one of the high-roof vans. The police said the girl was inside the vehicle when it was set on fire at 3:30am. Her body was burnt beyond recognition.

An announcement was made via loudspeaker, asking villagers to come and identify the remains. A couple of hours later, a boy appeared and said the girl was his sister. The deceased had gone missing a few hours earlier. She was identified as Ambreen Bibi alias Halima, 15, the daughter of Riasat Khan of the same village.

Family members identified Halima from the bangles and sandals she was wearing as well as her partially burnt diary.

Amid speculations

A senior police official told The Express Tribune circumstantial evidence suggests the girl was tied against the rear seat with a CNG cylinder beneath. The vehicle was then set on fire so the cylinder exploded and the body was dismembered.

“Although her autopsy report has not been received, initial medical examination revealed the victim was probably raped,” he claimed about the remains which were charred completely. “The police speculate the girl was also three-months pregnant. We have reason to believe the accused killed her in case she told someone.”

However, an official confirmation has yet to be received about whether the girl was pregnant. According to the official, the murder was tactfully planned and the unidentified men did not want to leave any evidence of the murder.

Interrogation

The officer said over a dozen villagers, including Halima’s family members, are being interrogated.

“The girl’s father Riasat Khan has been working in Karachi for several years,” he said. “The girl lived with two paternal aunts and her mother. She had stopped going to school two years ago.”

Galiyat DSP Jamilur Rehman was not available to comment on the matter.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 2^nd, 2016.