Man accused of kidnapping, murdering minor remains unprosecuted

Allegedly police have accepted a hefty bribe to weaken the case against the suspect

LAHORE:  

Police are allegedly protecting a man accused of killing a 10-year-old child and tossing his body into a stream

Reportedly, 10-year-old K*, a resident of Multan, went missing from his home on September 15. Muzaffarabad police registered a kidnapping case on September 16 while the child’s body was recovered near Kharanwali Bridge on September 17. After the child’s family identified the body, police shifted it to Nishter Hospital for an autopsy.

On the same day, police also arrested a resident in the area identified as Yazdani on the suspicions of Nadeem, the child’s father. During interrogation, Yazdani confessed to killing kidnapping and murdering K*. He maintained that after killing the boy he put him in a sack and throw the body into a canal.

The child’s parents maintain that before being killed, K* was sexually assaulted. Reportedly, Yazdani had gotten into a brawl with Nadeem which prompted him to kill K*.

Sources allege that Homicide Inspector Zawar Hussain, the investigation officer responsible for the case, and other officials have struck up a deal with the accused.

Yazdani was arrested on September 17. Since then, investigating officials have not formally named the suspect in the police report despite the fact that he was arrested a month and a half ago.

Sources maintain that the suspect is being illegally detained at the Muzaffarabad police station. Further, officials have not obtained physical remand of the suspect from the court. According to the law, officials must approach the court for the physical remand of any suspect that has been taken into custody.

Despite these irregularities, Mazaffarabad police station SHO Kasur Qalro maintains that the suspect has been arrested after being identified by the child’s father. On the other hand, Homicide Investigator Zawar Hussain has not formally filed the arrest and has refused to respond to Express News’ repeated requests for a comment for the past six days.

Sources maintain that the investigation has been compromised due to the fact that the victim’s medical report is missing. In addition to this, police have also not taken the statements of the victim’s family members. Allegedly, the police have accepted a hefty bribe to weaken the case against the suspect.

On the other hand, the deceased’s family appealed to the chief justice and other top officials to take notice of the incident and to ensure speedy justice.

Such shady police dealings are not uncommon. Many suspects are able to roam freely due to the negligence of the police.

*Name withheld to protect identity