According to complainant ‘G’, her 11-year-old daughter (class-III student) went to fetch drinking water from a hand pump near the local mosque after Iftar on Monday night. When she did not return for some time, her mother grew worried and rushed outside to search for her along with others.
During their search, they heard the girl’s screams coming from a nearby sunflower field. Upon reaching the spot, they found her with a severely injured neck, bleeding profusely from a deep slash inflicted by a sharp-edged weapon. Unable to speak due to her injuries, she indicated through gestures that she had been raped. The girl succumbed to her injuries on the way to hospital.
Upon receiving information on Tuesday morning, DPO Asad Sarfraz Khan, accompanied by the Saddar station house officer, arrived at the crime scene in Baqirpur. He inspected the site and summoned a crime scene unit along with forensic experts, who collected evidence from the fields.
According to PRO Rao Kashif, the DPO has formed a special investigation team to arrest the suspects. Saddar police, acting on the mother’s complaint, registered a first information report under sections 302 and 376-III of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) against unidentified persons. The victim’s body was sent to the Bahawal Victoria Hospital (BVH) morgue for a postmortem examination.
Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2025
