The body of five-year-old Ayat Noor, who went missing from Haripur 15 days ago, was handed over to her family on Tuesday after a post-mortem examination.
Ayat had gone out to play from her home in Pathan Colony, Haripur, within the Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) before disappearing. Her body was recovered from a well inside a warehouse on University Road on Monday.
Police took custody of the body after suspects allegedly identified the location and shifted it to a hospital for a post-mortem and medical examination. The examination was conducted to determine the cause of death and establish whether the child had been sexually assaulted.
Her funeral prayer was offered at Khad Factory ground on Monday, with thousands of people attending. Residents expressed grief and anger over her death and called for justice.
According to police, CCTV footage helped investigators identify five suspects allegedly involved in Ayat’s abduction. Three suspects, identified as Usman, Talha and Qasim, have been arrested while police teams are searching for the remaining two.
Police said that the three arrested suspects allegedly confessed before a magistrate to abducting and sexually assaulting the girl before throwing her into a well.
More than 300 police personnel, including men and women, had taken part in search operations at different locations following Ayat’s disappearance.
Before the girl was found, her father, relatives, and civil society members staged protests demanding her safe recovery. Protesters blocked the Karakoram Highway for around six hours and called for the suspects to be arrested and the girl to be recovered.
The road was reopened after police officials sought two days to address the matter.
The Haripur District Bar has also announced a day of mourning following Ayat’s death.
