Murder over petty issue: missing teenage boy found dead

Mutilated body discovered in fields during search by local people

CHICHAWATNI: The mutilated body of a teenage boy named Faisal Abbas, who went missing two days ago, was found in a field on Sunday.

Police officials said that the 14-year-old boy, son of Asghar Ali and a resident of Chak No L-21/14 located in the area of Shah Kot police station, left his house for work at 5pm and did not return even as the night passed.

The missing boy, who was a sixth grade student, could not be found even after police and locals conducted search in houses across the village. In the early hours of Sunday, a search was conducted again in the fields near the village. Eventually, the mutilated body of the young boy was found in the fields.

Chichawatni DSP Sajid Mehmood Gondal, accompanied by Shah Kot Police Station SHO Rana Kashif Ali, collected evidence and took the body into custody.

During initial investigations, the name of a suspect, Falak Shair, was mentioned by witnesses. The suspect was taken into custody. During investigation, the suspect confessed to killing the boy.

According to investigation details, the maternal uncle of Faisal also lived in the village. Shair was his close friend and was already convicted of a murder. The suspect kept a computer in his house for personal use and the victim would often accompany his uncle to the house.

A few days after the previous visit, Shair was antagonised over his computer hard disk being stolen. When he started searching for the disc, he suspected Faisal.

In a bid to take revenge, the accused allegedly abducted the victim and tied him with a rope in the fields. The accused then called the victim’s uncle on the spot and tortured Faisal in his presence.

During the brutal act, Faisal lost consciousness. The accused then covered the victim’s face with a plastic shopping bag and strangled him to death.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 6^th, 2020.