Nine-year-old girl set on fire

Suspects had feud with her uncle, had allegedly shot him a few days earlier

RAWALPINDI: Five men allegedly set a nine-year-old girl on fire, causing her severe injuries, police said on Sunday.

She has been admitted to the burn centre at Holy Family Hospital, where doctors described her condition as critical.

In a complaint to the Ratta Amral police, Muhammad Asif said that his daughter I* had gone to a nearby shop on Sunday morning to make purchases.



There, he alleged that Tariq, Mehtab, and three of their unidentified accomplices, poured petrol on his daughter and set her alight.



Asif, who is a resident of Abbottabad, said that he and his family had come to Rawalpindi to visit his wife’s brother Ashiq. Asif said that Ashiq had previously had a fight with Tariq and others and they had even opened fire on him during an earlier encounter.

He further alleged that the accused on Sunday morning had stopped his daughter when she was returning to Ashiq’s house from the shop and set her on fire.

Asif said that according to doctors, I* had received 50 per cent burns on her body. He added I face had been completely burnt. The Ratta Amral police have registered an attempted murder case against Tariq, Mehtab, and the three unidentified men.



Despite her injuries, an official at the Ratta Amral police station said that the child had given a statement to investigators and confirmed that five men had stopped her when she was returning to the house in the morning.

The policeman said that Ashiq had also registered an attempted murder case on January 24 after unidentified men opened fire on him.

*Name withheld to protect identity

Published in The Express Tribune, January 30^th, 2017.