LAHORE – In a major development, police have reportedly arrested the prime accused in a case of the seven-year-old girl, who was raped and murdered in Kasur last week.
The claim has been made by a private new channel stating that the police captured a person who looks very similat to the person who can be seen in a CCTV footage, from Bhatta Chowk, an area of Lahore.
Later, he was shifted to a nearby police station where police officers, including DIG and SSP, interrogated the suspect. According to media, the arrested person has confessed to raping and subsequently killing the innocent girl, Zainab, in Kasur.
Zainab was kidnapped on January 4 when she was on her way to Holy Quran class. Her body was discovered five days later from a garbage pile. The post-mortem report revealed that the minor girl had been raped and murdered.
Police believe the suspect is a serial killer as the same DNA found in previous assault cases in which nine girls, ages five to 10 years, were raped and killed seven of them.
Media reports suggest a sample has been sent to a laboratory for DNA test of the arrested suspect. After the test, the results will be cross-matched with the DNA found in the past cases, including Zainab case.
As the Kasur incident ramped up pressure on the performance of the government, a high-profile joint investigation team (JIT) was formed to solve the case, but it could not trace the suspect for several past days despite possessing several CCTV footages.
The incident also sparked violent protest in Kasur and drew countrywide criticism, raising questions on the performance of law enforcers. During the protest, two men were killed in police firing that added fuel to the fire.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar also took suo moto notice of the Kasur rape case and summoned all investigators on next hearing, going to be held on Sunday.
