8-year-old kidnapped, beaten to death

Eight-year-old school boy kidnapped and then beaten to death with a hammer.


Azam Khan October 30, 2010

RAWALPINDI: An eight-year-old school boy was kidnapped from Glass Factory Chowk Rawalpindi and then beaten to death before dawn on Friday. According to the autopsy report, Hamza Tariq’s skull was smashed to pieces with a hammer.

Hamza was at his father Tariq Mehmood’s barbeque shop on Thursday night. His father went home at around midnight but Hamza stayed back, insisting that he would feed the cats some milk before returning home. When Hamza was not home by 2:30 am, his family started searching for him.

Mehmood reached the shop and was informed by his employee Noor Baba that Hamza was not there. The family searched for the boy all night only to find his body at around 9 am with his skull beaten in. Residents of the area, which is within the jurisdiction of the Waris Khan Police Station, have been in a state of shock ever since the incident.

Hamza’s mother told The Express Tribune, “What enmity could we poor people have? I cannot understand why my beloved son was murdered.” She said that her son was fond of cats and would often feed them. In the end, it was his compassion that cost him his life.  Hamza was a student of class 3 at MC Boys High School. When the news of his murder reached the school, his teachers and class fellows suspended normal proceedings and went to his home.

Shahid Aziz, a class fellow of Hamza, said, “It was surprising to see Hamza’s seat empty, being a brilliant student, he almost never missed school.” Whatever the eight-year-old’s understanding of death may be, Shahid said he found it difficult to imagine that Hamza would not be attending school anymore.

His other class mates also expressed grief, sorrow and confusion.

Hamza’s younger brother, six-year-old Noman Tariq, kept asking his father, “Abu why did the cruel people kill my brother?” When his father would not answer, Noman would grind his teeth and chant, “Nahin choron ga, mein nahin choron ga”. (I will not spare them. No, I will not spare them)

A close relative of Mehmood claimed to have witnessed an incident in the night that led him to suspect three persons for Hamza’s murder. He said that he had identified them as members of the neighbourhood and given their names to the Waris Khan Police. However, no suspects were named in the official complaint present with the police.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 30th, 2010.

COMMENTS (3)

Waqar | 13 years ago | Reply Is the blood spattered image of a hammer at the top of this article really necessary?
K.Mushtaq Ahmad | 13 years ago | Reply so sad story....feeling sorrow and grief...
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