QUETTA: SSP Serious Crimes Unit Zohaib Mohsin announced the arrest of a 15-year-old suspect named Mushtaq Hussain, alias Mehdi, in the murder of a young boy, Arman Ali, on September 20. The boy was found brutally killed and partially burned in Hazara Town. He made the announcement in a press conference in DIG office, Quetta on September 29. SSP Operations Quetta Mohammad Baloch was also present. SSP Serious Crime Unit revealed that during the investigation, the suspect confessed to plan the crime after watching scenes from crime series on social media. He lured the boy, whom he did not know, with juice and then attacked him, claiming he acted based on what he had seen in those series.
He further said that the police station in Brewery registered a case on behalf of the victim’s father, Muhammad Naeem. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed to investigate the incident, which included officers from the Serious Crimes Investigation Wing, Operations, Analysis Wing, IT, and Crime Scene. They reported that the SIT worked day and night, conducting geofencing of the crime scene and obtaining footage from nearby CCTV cameras with the assistance of FC Balochistan. Based on the footage, suspicious individuals were brought in for questioning. SSP further revealed that on September 29, 2024, the suspect, Mushtaq Hussain alias Mehdi, aged 15, son of Muhammad Arif from Hazara Town, Quetta, was included in the investigation.
During questioning, Mehdi confessed to the crime, explaining that he had been watching crime-related series on social media for a long time and had been playing mobile games. With these influences in mind, he planned the crime. He took a knife and a hammer, hid them in a school bag, and went to the crime scene, where he found a child flying a kite. After offering the child juice, he took him inside a building and, emulating scenes from the crime series, killed the child. To conceal the crime, he poured petrol on the body and set it on fire.
Evidence, including the murder weapon, was recovered. The case is ongoing, with further medical examinations pending to determine if sexual assault occurred.
Published in News Daily on 30 September 2024.
