A man accused of raping an 11-year-old girl in Chak 24-BC has been killed during an alleged police encounter on Friday.
According to sources, Muhammad Aslam, worked as a labourer to support his family. Despite limited means, he had installed a filtered water tap outside his house for public use, considering it an act of charity so that passers-by could collect clean drinking water.
On 17 August, Aslam's 11-year-old daughter, who regularly attended a nearby madrassa to study the Qur'an, failed to return home on time. Her worried family began searching for her, and her father eventually found her in a nearby field in a condition that would shatter any parent's heart. Ali Hamza, the suspect, had previously worked at a thread factory in Lahore, where he was also accused of similar assaults on young girls but had evaded arrest. He had returned to Bahawalpur to attend his mother's funeral when the incident occurred.
Police said Hamza had gone to fetch water from a roadside filter tap when he spotted the girl returning alone from the madrassa. His mother's burial had just taken place, he allegedly forced the girl into nearby fields, assaulted her, and then washed up at the same water tap before fleeing the scene.
The girl was rushed to hospital, and a case was registered on the complaint of her father. The suspect, Ali Hamza, was later arrested and confessed to the crime. He was booked under FIR No. 1688/25, Section 376 of the Pakistan Penal Code, for the assault on 11-year-old girl as she was returning home from the madrassa.
During physical remand, Ali Hamza had escaped police custody while being brought back from Lahore after a DNA test. Police had since been conducting a search operation to trace him. On Thursday, officers received information about his presence at a rural hideout. When police raided the location, three to four unidentified men opened indiscriminate fire on them. In the exchange of gunfire, the fugitive suspect Ali Hamza was critically wounded reportedly by his accomplices' bullets.
Rescue 1122 was called to the scene, but despite efforts, he succumbed to his injuries. His body was later shifted to hospital for legal formalities. The unidentified attackers managed to flee, and police said a search operation is under way to arrest the remaining suspects.
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