Rape suspect dies in police custody

A suspect who had allegedly raped an eight-year-old girl in Tandlianwala died in police custody.

The eight-year-old victim, daughter of a widow and a resident of Chak No. 610/GB in the jurisdiction of the Saddar Tandlianwala Police Station, had gone to the mosque in her neighbourhood to study the Holy Quran.

However, the suspect, Qari Usman, who was the prayer leader at the mosque and a resident of Sargodha, allegedly tricked her into his residence in the mosque and sexually assaulted her.

When the girl's condition worsened, the accused left the girl and escaped.

The City Police Officer had taken notice of the incident and directed the police to make all-out efforts to arrest the suspect. A case had been registered against the accused on the statement of the mother of the girl.

The police conducted raids in Faisalabad and Sargodha and arrested the suspect in Sargodha where he had escaped to.

Meanwhile, Qari Usman died mysteriously in police custody while he was being taken to Tandlianwala.

SP Shamsul Haq Durrani had been appointed inquiry officer to investigate into the matter. Police handed over Qari Usman's body to his family members after the postmortem examination.

Police claimed that Qari Usman had suffered a heart attack which caused his death. Meanwhile, bodies of three people, including a woman, were found which the police shifted to the hospital and started searching for their heirs.

A 10-day-old body of an unknown person was found in Satyana Road Canal within the limits of the Saddar Police Station.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 17^th, 2023.