Two arrested for kidnapping, murdering minor

Initial investigation suggests 14-year-old H* was sexually assaulted

GUJRANWALA: Police arrested two individuals for kidnapping and murdering a minor boy in Gujranwala, Express News reported on Wednesday.

Officials said that accused Faisal and Mukhtiar were identified as friends of the deceased. They had kidnapped him and had demanded a ransom of Rs10 million for his release. However, on Tuesday night, H*’s body was discovered in Nowshera’s Virkan tehsil near some bushes.

Police shifted the body to Civil Hospital for an autopsy. Initial investigation suggests the minor was sexually assaulted by the accused, officials added. Further investigations are under way.

Reportedly, 14-year-old H* was kidnapped by unidentified men near his home on November 30. Later, the kidnappers called the boy’s family and demanded a ransom of Rs10 million.

The child’s father registered a complaint at Garjak police station and an investigation was opened.

During this time, the abductor called the child’s family to negotiate, but officials were unable to trace the call and apprehend the perpetrators. Meanwhile, the victim’s family offered a reward of Rs1 million to anybody who had information regarding the kidnapping. On the other hand, the victim’s paternal uncle claims that H* was murdered on the very day he was kidnapped and that no call for ransom was ever received.

On December 22, the mutilated body of a minor was recovered from fields in Darya Khan, near the Ali Lak Government Primary School. Reportedly, six-year-old S* from Kotla Jam went missing after going to school on December 13.

On December 31, the autopsy report of the minor confirmed that he was raped and then killed.

*Names withheld to protect identity 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 3^rd, 2019.