Police in the city of Karachi, Pakistan, arrested a man on September 25 after he was caught by locals trying to dispose the a body of an eight-year-old boy he allegedly raped and murdered.
The victim, identified as Haris, had gone missing from Shafiq Colony, on the evening of September 24, the area’s Station House Officer (SHO) Farrukh Shaharyar told local media. The officer added that a First Information Report (FIR) was not filed. The family had instead made announcements at the local mosques.
A police official told local media that a man was going to dispose the body but was intercepted by residents in the early hours of Friday.
The residents saw the man carrying something in a cloth bag made out of a bedsheet. They got hold of him and discovered the boy’s body in the bag, according to the officer.
Soon after, around two dozen relatives and neighbours of the victim also reached the scene. They neither informed police nor handed over the suspect to authorities.
The cop further said that they reportedly held a village council meeting to settle the issue before the police arrived.
The body had bruises on the neck and was shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for an autopsy.
A medico-legal officer (MLO) at the hospital confirmed that the boy was raped before being murdered. He said they await a chemical examination report to confirm more details.
Police registered a case against the held suspect on the complaint of the victim’s father on charges of murder and rape.
During the initial probe, the suspect admitted to having raped and killed the boy but later denied doing so, the SHO said.
The body was handed over to his family after the medical examination for burial.
Shaharyar said that police had obtained information from the area that revealed that the suspect had also been involved in sexual assault cases in the past.
On Friday, relatives of the boy, while carrying his coffin, protested on the streets and demanded strict punishment against the arrested suspect.
