Case registered against 150 people for disrupting law and order in Karachi

Court sends two accused in rape and murder of minor girl on 14-day physical remand

KARACHI: The police registered on Wednesday a case against 150 people for disrupting law and order during a protest on Tuesday against the rape and murder of a minor girl in District West.

An FIR was registered on behalf of the state under sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act, including encounter, rioting and provoking participants of the funeral prayers, in the FIR.

According to Pirabad SHO Urs Muhammad, the police have named of 13 of the arrested protesters in the FIR.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that six of these 13 protesters are affiliated with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). However, SHO Muhammad denied the nomination of PTI workers in the FIR.



PTI District West President Subhan Sahil claimed that the police have named about a dozen PTI workers and leaders in the FIR. He added that a former District West president Ataullah, District West General Secretary Saeed Afridi and presidents of four union councils of the party were among those named. He vowed to hold a protest against the nomination of the party members in the FIR.

Meanwhile, on the orders of the District West judicial magistrate, two arrested suspects, Raheem and Fazal, were sent to police custody on physical remand on Wednesday. During the hearing, the police informed the court that the girl's body was recovered from the bushes near the Northern Bypass in Manghopir.

A case against three suspects was registered in the presence of Abdul Qadir, the girl's grandfather. Taking swift action, the police arrested Raheem and Fazal on Tuesday. The suspects now have to be interrogated for the arrest of their absconding accomplice, Faqeer Muhammad. The police requested that the suspects be sent to police custody on a 14-day physical remand.



Separate murder, kidnapping and rape cases have been registered in the Manghopir and Orangi town police stations against them.

Inquiry committee records statements
Officials of the inquiry committee formed to ascertain the actual cause behind the protests and the killing of a man during a clash between the protesters and police visited the protest site and recorded statements of the policemen and residents of the area. Empty shells of the weapons used during the clash were also collected and sent to the police's forensic division for analysis.

Protester laid to rest

Hafiz Muhammad Ilyas, who was gunned down during the protest, was laid to rest amid tears and sobs on Wednesday in a graveyard in Orangi Town. A large number of his relatives and neighbours attended the funeral and burial.



The seven-year-old girl went missing on April 15 near her house and her decomposed body was found in a garbage dump in Manghopir the next day. The family, neighbours and scores of other people staged a protest on Tuesday while they were on their way to the graveyard for her burial after medical reports confirmed that she was raped and strangled to death.

The victim's father told the media that one of the suspects, Raheem, is the girl's maternal uncle. He claimed that Raheem was not involved in the incident and demanded his immediate release. The father also demanded a speedy trial of the second suspect, Fazal.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Sohail Anwar Siyal visited the victim's family and assured them of his cooperation, saying that the family and the police both wanted to bury the girl but some miscreants tried to take advantage of the incident. He, however, clarified that the police will also be punished according to the law if any policeman were found misusing their authority.