Abduction, murder: Three found killed, a child missing

Bodies of Maqboolan bibi and er daughter were found killed near the shrine.

BAHALWALPUR:

The decapitated body of a six-year-old was found in a sugarcane field four days after the child went missing.

Manzoor Ahmad, the child’s father, told police that on December 22, his son was playing in front of their house in Chak 16-DNB near Head Rajkaan.

When he did not return, he said, he and his wife went looking for him.

He said some neighbours told him that they had seen the boy with two unidentified men near the neighbourhood market. They said they did not inform the family thinking they were some relatives.

Ahmad filed a complaint at the Head Rajkaan police station on the same day.

On Wednesday, police said, the boy’s decapitated body was discovered.

Police said the body seemed to have been attacked by animals and speculated that it was dumped at least two days ago.



Station House Officer Tasadduq Abbas told The Express Tribune that the body has been sent to tehsil headquarters hospital for a post-mortem examination. He said the doctors had determined that the boy was sexually assaulted before he was killed.

He said two suspects had been arrested.

Elsewhere, the bodies of a private school teacher and her daughter were found near Chanan Pir, from where they were allegedly kidnapped on Sunday. The woman’s son, who was also with them at the time they were kidnapped, was still missing. Police said they had arrested a suspect.

Police said that Maqboolan Bibi, her seven-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son, residents of Chak 150-DP near Yazman, had left home on Sunday to visit the shrine of Chanan Pir. They said the three were apparently abducted from there.

Maqboolan Bibi’s brother, Muhammad Maqbool Hussain, had filed a complaint with the police.

On Tuesday, police said, the woman and her daughter were found killed near the shrine. Their throats had been cut and there were several bruises on their bodies, the police said. The boy was still missing.

District Police Officer Muhammad Imran told The Express Tribune that a police team had been set up to investigate the incident and look for the criminals.

The family told police that they had no known enemies and had no idea who could be behind the kidnaps and the murders. They said they had not received any calls for ransom. Hussain said his brother-in-law worked in Saudi Arabia and had been informed about the incident. He said he would arrive in a few days.

After the post-mortem examination, the bodies were handed over to the family. The funerals were held on Wednesday afternoon.

Police said autopsy results were awaited.

As the word spread across the city, questions were raised about security situation in the area. The DPO is expected to hold a press conference in this regard on Friday.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 27^th, 2012.