Child brutally murdered over minor dispute

Victim’s body bears severe torture marks

LODHRAN:

A child was brutally murdered with bricks and knives over a minor dispute in Qureshiwala area.

The body of the 7-year-old boy was found in a field within the jurisdiction of Qureshiwala police station, but had not been transferred to the District Hospital Lodhran for post-mortem until late at night.

The incident took place in Basti Muradpur, Moza Khanwan, where a man named Akram, who sells goods on a bicycle, lives.

On Sunday, his son Adnan went to a madrasa with his siblings and returned home at around 11:30am. Later, at around 2:00pm, he was found missing when the family looked for him during lunch. After an extensive search, an announcement was made around sunset that an unidentified child's body had been found in a nearby field. Upon inspection, it was confirmed to be Akram's son, Adnan.

The police were notified and arrived at the scene to collect evidence. The boy's body was found two acres away from his home in a sorghum field.

Initial observations by the police indicated that Adnan was likely kidnapped and then murdered with a sharp object. The body bore severe marks of torture on the face and other parts.

It is yet to be confirmed through a post-mortem report whether Adnan was sexually assaulted.

Despite the discovery, the body had not been transferred to the District Headquarters Hospital for post-mortem until late at night. Adnan had two brothers and three sisters.

The police have registered a murder case against two suspects, Imran and Jamshed, who were arrested and confessed to the crime. According to the FIR, the suspects had a previous altercation with Adnan’s family over a pathway dispute, which escalated during Eid.

SHO Imran Sial of Qureshiwala police station stated that the confirmation of sexual assault would come from the post-mortem report. Adnan’s father expressed his anguish, saying that his cousin Aslam's sons had unjustly murdered his innocent child, who had no enmity with anyone. He pleaded for justice and urged the Chief Minister of Punjab to help bring the perpetrators to justice swiftly.