A seven-year-old girl in Sargodha was raped and murdered after she went to a nearby store for groceries.
According to the FIR [First Information Report] of the incident, a copy of which is available with The Current, the victim, Muntaha Zahra, left her home at around 11 am. When she did not return for hours, her father Mohammad Naeem went to Hanif Kirana Store in Karkhana Bazaar, located adjacent to their home, accompanied by two neighbours, Muhammad Tahir and Adeem Akram.
When Naeem asked shop owner Muhammad Abbas about his daughter, he received no response, the FIR said, adding that he, along with his companions, then went to the third floor of the building, where they found suspect Muhammad Arslan adjusting his shalwar, and Muntaha lying on the floor.
Upon seeing them, Arslan threw a knife towards the men and jumped across adjoining rooftops.
When the father reached his daughter, she was taking her last breaths. She had allegedly been sexually assaulted and stabbed in the throat with a knife, the FIR noted, adding that the girl succumbed to her injuries at the scene.
The FIR named Arslan as the prime suspect and identified Muhammad Abbas, Muhammad Hanif and Ehsan Ali as co-accused, alleging that they instigated the crime.
The complainant stated in the FIR that two days before the incident, he had an altercation with Muhammad Abbas over a shop account, during which Abbas had threatened him, saying he would make him remember it for the rest of his life.
All four suspects are in police custody and a probe is underway, reports said.
