Abu Dhabi: The accused in the rape and murder of a 11-year old boy in Abu Dhabi had cross-dressed as a woman to take the boy to the rooftop of his residential building, Abu Dhabi Police revealed on Tuesday. 

The accused Pakistani worker is known to the victim’s family, a police press release stated. 

Major General Maktoum Al Sharifi, Director-General of Abu Dhabi Police, said the accused told police he cross-dressed as a woman because he knew that the boy would not go with a man without permission from his parents. 

After raping the boy, the suspect allegedly strangled him with a rope.

The police identified the accused within 48 hours of the crime. The forensic laboratory of Abu Dhabi Police found scientific evidence linking the boy’s murder to the suspect. 

No further details

The police did not reveal further details about the suspect. 

Major General Al Sharifi congratulated the investigation team for their professionalism. He regretted that such a heinous crime occurred in Abu Dhabi. He said the police have handed over the case to the public prosecution for further legal procedures.

The child and family prosecution under the General Prosecution in Abu Dhabi has started investigations into the case. 

The prosecutors interrogated the suspect and recorded his statement to make a chargesheet against him, according to a press release issued by Abu Dhabi Judicial Department on Tuesday. 

The prosecutors visited the crime scene and took statements of witnesses in the case. Forensic and other evidences were collected in the case.

The prosecution received an autopsy report. Forensic experts of prosecution have also examined the body.

The prosecution wants to maintain transparency in all of its procedures and details of the investigation will be announced after its completion, said the press release. 

‘Gulf News’ broke story

Gulf News exclusively reported about the incident on Friday. The boy’s father is a Pakistani and mother a Russian. The mother, who used to visit her son in Abu Dhabi, was in the city when the tragedy occurred.

The boy, Azan Majid Janjua, went missing last Tuesday and his body was found the next morning. 

His father, Dr Majid Janjua, had told Gulf News that Azan was fasting and had gone to the mosque for late afternoon prayers and Quran recitation before he went missing. Some neighbours saw the boy returning from the mosque, but he never reached home. An extensive search for the boy by the family proved futile.

AC technicians, who went to the building’s rooftop to check a malfunctioning chiller, found his body there on Wednesday morning.