Karachi, Apr 17: The alleged rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl in Karachi’s Manghopir area sparked protests on Tuesday, with the family of the deceased child demanding justice by placing her body on the road.
The girl, who had gone missing on Sunday, was found dead in bushes in Manghopir on Monday night. She was later identified on Tuesday as a resident of Baloch Goth, Orangi Town.
An initial medical examination suggested she was sexually assaulted and strangulated to death following which DNA samples were taken to confirm the findings.
Relatives and area residents placed the body of the deceased girl on Orangi Road to record protest, however, they took the body back to their home after the protest turned violent with demonstrators pelting stones at police and nearby vehicles.
According to eyewitnesses, two people were injured as police resorted to firing and teargas shelling to disperse the protesters.
A man who was injured allegedly by police firing later died after being taken to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), said Dr Seemi Jamali, the hospital’s head of emergency.
While Dr Jamali identified the man as Abdur Rehman, police and Rangers officials said the deceased was identified as Ilyas Haider.
Besides, 10 police personnel, including a deputy superintendent police (DSP) and two station house officers (SHO), were also injured in the incident.
Subsequently, Rangers personnel were deployed in the area after which the situation came under control, DawnNewsTV reported.
The girl was later laid to rest in MPR Colony graveyard. Rangers Sector Commander Brig Naseem, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) West Amir Farooqui and others were also present at the time of burial.
They advised those who were leading protests to act with restraint and said that none of those who were protesting against the incident were present at the time of burial. The officials said that investigations into the killing of the girl as well as the protests were underway while 10-15 protesters have been arrested.
DIG West further claimed that the family wanted to bury the girl but political elements instigated them on protest to gain political mileage.
Earlier, Sindh Home Minister Sohail Anwar Siyal had also made similar allegations.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) MPA Khurram Sher Zaman claimed that the deceased protester was a PTI worker who was killed as a result of police’s straight firing on peaceful protesters.
Taking notice of the incident, Inspector General (IG) Sindh A.D. Khowaja ordered DIG Admin Asim Kaimkhani to hold a transparent and unbiased inquiry into the matter.
SSP West Omar Shahid Hamid said of the three people nominated by the girl’s grandfather in the FIR, two have been arrested while police are looking for the third.
The cases of assault against minors began being increasingly reported in the country after body of a six-year-old girl was found from a heap of garbage in Kasur in January.
The incident sparked unrest and massive protests in Kasur district resulting in violent clashes with the police. The accused in the case was later sentenced to death and was also found to be involved in other cases of rape and murder in the area.
