10-year-old throws one-year-old cousin into drain because he ‘didn’t like her’

The shocking nature of the fatal incident disturbed not only families but also senior cops

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RAWALPINDI:

A 10-year-old boy threw his one-year-old cousin into a drain because he “didn’t like her,” the Ratta Amral police confirmed on Thursday. The infant’s body was later recovered and handed over to the family after a post-mortem examination.

Police took the boy identified as Azan Akhtar into custody and presented him in court, which subsequently ordered that he be sent to the Child Protection Bureau.

According to police, the deeply disturbing incident took place in Waheed Colony within the remits of Ratta Amral police station. Initially, the victim’s grandmother Musarrat Bibi informed the police that Maryam, the one-year-old daughter of her son Aqeel, had been playing in the street with other children.

She said that her other granddaughter had picked up Maryam and taken her to the street corner, where she sat her down to play. Later, the infant was found missing. The family did not have a recent photograph of Maryam and said they had no suspicion of anyone in particular. They initially believed the child had been kidnapped.

Police registered a kidnapping case and began searching for the child throughout the night and into Thursday. According to police, during the investigation, CCTV footage from the area showed a 10-year-old boy carrying the child and heading toward a drain at the bottom of a street, where he was seen throwing the child into the water. Police discovered the boy was Azan Akhtar, the paternal cousin of the infant.

The boy was taken into custody, and during questioning in front of the family and police, he confessed to the crime, saying, “I didn’t like her.” The shocking nature of the incident disturbed not only the families but also senior police officials. The murder charge was later added to the FIR.

Police sources confirmed that due to the seriousness of the child’s involvement in the case, he was presented before a court, which then ordered he be handed over to the Child Protection Bureau. SP Rawal Muhammad Haseeb confirmed the tragic incident.