Top court issues notice to AG, IG Punjab over Zainab rape, murder case

Supreme Court to hear sou motu on case tomorrow

The top court has issued a notice to Advocate General Punjab and Inspector General (IG) Punjab over eight-year-old Zainab's rape, murder case on Monday.

Earlier, IG Punjab Police informed the Supreme Court (SC) that so far 227 people have been interrogated in the said case, however, the hearing for the sou motu notice on the case will be heard tomorrow.



The province’s top police official also submitted the medical examination report conducted by the Women Medical Centre (WMC), containing details of the victim’s body. The postmortem report, shared with the apex court, said that the Zainab's body was partially covered in mud and her remains were decayed. The child had also suffered multiple injuries including bone fractures.

“A large number of CCTV footages acquired from various cameras installed on nearby streets were examined by a number of officials when the IT team managed to rummage through and pull out the video footage of the unidentified suspect taking Zainab to the remote area of Peru Wala Road in Kasur,” the report read.



IG Punjab’s report also contained details of the measures being taken by the provincial police to trace the culprit. It also informed the court that a sketch of the suspect has been prepared and the announcement of prize money of Rs10 million for anyone who can reveal relevant information about the whereabouts of the suspect.



As per the report, on January 4 at 7:00 pm, the minor aged between seven to eight years went for her Holy Quran classes along with her cousin Muhammad Usman, on Road Kot of the city. Usman reached the house of the tutor but the girl did not, said the report.

It added that the tutor presumed that Zainab may have gone back home but was later informed that she had never made it back. Upon finding out about her disappearance, the complainant Muhammad Adnan along with his brother and nephew started searching for her.

Subsequently, the complainant informed rescue 15 at 9:30 pm that he has strong suspicions that his niece had been abducted by unidentified men. Consequently, a case was registered under section 363 PPC, said the report.

The IG informed the court that all efforts were being made to apprehend the suspect. He also assured the court that no stone would be left unturned in order to track down the culprit, adding that the investigation would be led by Punjab’s additional IG investigations.