Minor girl’s murder mystery resolved

Police arrest young suspect for raping, killing and dumping victim’s body in a well

RAWALPINDI:

Gujjar Khan police have finally resolved the murder mystery of a 10-year-old girl and arrested the killer who lives in her neighbourhood. 

The body of the girl was spotted in the well of a house situated in Akbarabad Dalmi area. The suspect first abducted the girl, subjected her to sexual violence, strangled her and dumped her body in the well in an attempt to give the incident the look of an accident. 

The mother of Ayesha Noor complained to the Gujjar Khan police on April 6 that her husband works abroad. She has two sons and a 10-year-old daughter. Ayesha requested her to give money to buy chips. The girl received the money and went to a shop but didn’t return. Despite an extensive search, she couldn’t be located. The complainant suspected that her daughter might have been kidnapped or encountered some other unfortunate event.

A police team constituted by the Saddar SP Nabil Khokhar launched an extensive search for the missing girl and surveyed the surroundings of the victim’s house, encompassing both inhabited and deserted areas. Consequently, an inspection was conducted at a residence in the area where a man resided alone. Investigators found the girl’s body in a few feet-deep well at the residential property.

Police took the house owner into custody and performed an autopsy. The suspected man expressed ignorance about the presence of the body in his well. He, however, revealed that a local young man named Falak Sher used to visit him.

Police also took Falak Sher into custody and interrogated him after the victim’s family recalled that in the past he attempted to misbehave and abuse the girl's mother. The suspect finally confessed to abducting the girl, raping and strangling her to death and later dumping her body in the well.

Earlier, Rawalpindi City Police Officer Syed Khalid Hamdani promptly responded to the incident by establishing specialised teams to trace the blind murder. Led by the Saddar SP, the Gujjar Khan police thoroughly investigated all possible angles and successfully apprehended the culprit while utilising advanced technology and human intelligence. The investigation police will submit a complete challan with substantial evidence in court. Meanwhile, SSP Operations Hafiz Kamran Asghar commended the Saddar SP and his police team for apprehending the accused.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 19^th, 2024.