Protest held over rape-murder of minor girl Rawalpindi

Body of nine-year-old was found from under the bed of a family's neighbour

RAWALPINDI:

Protesters on Tuesday blocked the Rawalpindi Airport Road and attempted to barge into the Civil Lines police station following the alleged rape and murder of a nine-year-old girl late on Monday night.

The incident took place in the Jhanda Chechi area of the district where the girl went missing after she left her home to buy something from a nearby shop. Her body was later found from under the bed of a family's neighbour.

The police had detained a suspect, identified as Babar Masih, following the incident and moved him to the Civil Lines police station, where the protesters gathered asking the officers to handover the alleged culprit, saying they would hang him publicly.

A scuffle was witnessed at the police station with heavy contingents of the law enforcement agency barring the protesters from entering the premises. Moreover, elite force commandos were also deputed on the site to beef up the security.

The crowd dispersed after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MPA Chaudhry Adnan and SSP Operations reached the scene and assured the protesters of delivering justice and producing the suspect in the court with concrete evidence.

The police said that as per the initial investigation, the minor was sexually assaulted before being killed. However, they added that the post-mortem report could ascertain the suspicion and the cause of death.

The police said the suspect, Babar Masih, is being interrogated, adding that his DNA sample will also be sent for a test.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 24^th, 2021.