'Prime suspect' in Sargodha girl murder case killed in firefight

The prime suspect in the alleged rape and murder of seven-year-old Muntaha Zahra was killed in an encounter in Sargodha on Wednesday, District Police Spokesperson Khurram confirmed while speaking to The Express Tribune.

Muntaha had allegedly been raped and murdered inside a grocery store building a day earlier. Police later arrested four suspects and produced them before Senior Civil Judge Chaudhry Imran Ali, who remanded them to police custody for six days for physical interrogation. Police officials said preliminary investigations suggested that a store employee had allegedly attempted to assault the girl. When she resisted and raised an alarm, the suspect allegedly killed her.

According to Khurram, the encounter took place when officials of the Crime Control Department (CCD) were taking the main suspect to recover the weapon allegedly used in the crime.

Khurram said his associates opened fire near the Jhal Chakian Canal bridge while the suspect was accompanying the CCD team, leading to an exchange of fire, in which the latter was fatally shot by the attackers.

The spokesperson said the suspected attackers managed to flee the scene. "CCD officials have initiated an investigation into the incident and are searching for the accused," he added.

Muntaha, a resident of block 8, had left her home to buy sugar from a nearby grocery store and went missing, upon which her family filed a complaint with the police. After registration of the report, police launched a search operation and reviewed footage from CCTV cameras installed in the area to recover the missing child.

Footage showed Muntaha entering the grocery store but not exiting it. Acting on the lead, law enforcement officials searched the grocery store building and found the child's body. Police collected the evidence from the crime scene to apprehend the suspects.