The postmortem examination of five-year-old Ayat Noor has confirmed that she was sexually assaulted before her death, according to Haripur District Police Officer (DPO).
Ayat’s body was handed over to her family on Tuesday, a day after it was recovered from a well inside a warehouse on University Road, 15 days after she went missing.
According to the postmortem report, Ayat died during the assault due to excessive bleeding and shock. Police said that she was thrown into the well after her death.
An eight-member medical board headed by Medical Superintendent Dr Manwar conducted the autopsy to determine the cause of death and establish whether the child had been sexually assaulted.
Ayat had gone out to play from her home in Pathan Colony in Haripur located in the Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) before she went missing.
Police said that CCTV footage helped investigators identify five suspects involved in her abduction. Three suspects, identified as Usman, Talha and Qasim, have been arrested while teams are searching for the remaining two.
According to police, the three arrested suspects confessed before a magistrate to abducting and sexually assaulting Ayat before throwing her into the well.
Police had taken custody of Ayat’s body after suspects identified the location where it had been dumped.
Ayat’s funeral prayer was offered at Khad Factory ground on Monday, with thousands of people attending. Residents expressed grief over her death and demanded justice.
The Haripur District Bar has also announced a day of mourning following Ayat’s death.
