Eight-year-old girl raped and murdered, body recovered from field

MANDI BAHAUDDIN: An eight-year-old girl was allegedly abducted, raped and murdered in the suburban area of Muradwal, Tehsil Malakwal, District Mandi Bahauddin on the first day of Eidul Azha.  

The victim’s body was recovered on Sunday from a sugarcane field.

Locals said that the victim, Kiran Shehzadi, daughter of Muhammad Iftikhar, left her house around 3pm on Saturday after taking Rs50 from her mother to buy something from a nearby shop but never returned.

The parents, along with close relatives and local residents, tried every possible means to find the girl but found no trace.

The girl’s mother, Almas, reported the disappearance to Malakwal Police Station.

Police registered a missing person report but allegedly did not help in the search of the girl.

Kiran’s body was recovered from a sugarcane field on Sunday.

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Plice shifted the body to Tehsil Headquarters Hospital Malakwal for initial medico-legal formalities before the minor’s body was sent to District Headquarters Hospital Mandi Bahauddin for a post-mortem.

Malakwal police have registered an FIR (535/25 under Section 363 of the Pakistan Penal Code) on the complaint of the girl’s mother.

Based on initial evidence and statements from the family, police suspected that the girl was abducted, raped and then murdered, and her body dumped in the field.

According to police, additional sections will be added in the FIR based on the post-mortem report and forensic evidence.

Police claimed that the scope of the investigation has been expanded and they were treating the incident as a test case.

Following the incident, a wave of grief and anger has swept through the area.

Locals have described the brutality against the child as inhumane and demanded the immediate arrest and exemplary punishment of those responsible.

DSP Circle Malakwal Zulfiqar Ahmed was contacted via mobile phone, but he did not answer the call.

Meanwhile, when Mandi Bahauddin police spokesperson Sub-Inspector Zohaib Warraich was approached for comment, he said he was unaware of the incident and was currently on Eid holidays.