KASUR: The culprit involved in the horrific rape and murder of 7-year-old Zainab in Kasur is still at large, questioning the efficiency of Punjab police.
The minor girl was abducted on January 4 from Kasur’s Kot Road area. Five days after her disappearance, she was found raped, dead and buried in a garbage dump on Jan 09.
The gory Kasur incident shattered the entire nation, triggering widespread public outrage with people from all walks of life demanding an exemplary punishment for the culprit.
Violent protests erupted in the city following the incident, resulting in the death of two people in police firing outside DC office.
The incident blew the lid on the horrifying reality of how children in a brutalized society are vulnerable to sexual abuse.
A day earlier, the Kasur police released fresh footage showing what they said possible suspect behind the kidnapping, rape and murder of Zainab walking through the street where Zainab’s house is situated.
The CCTV footage shows a bearded man wearing black cap roaming around Zainab’s house at about 5:26 on January 04, the day the child was kidnapped.
The investigators said the new video will help them make headway in the case.
The Zainab’s rape-cum-murder is said to be 12th incident in the city where minor girls have been murdered before being subjected to sexual assault.
Earlier, a spokesperson for the provincial government had claimed that he was expecting a breakthrough after arresting a number of suspects, but the name of the culprit would be disclosed after DNA test.
IG Punjab Arif Nawaz told a Lahore High Court bench this week that 11 minor girls have been abducted, raped and killed during the past two years.
The police investigated 227 suspects and conducted DNA tests of 67 suspects, but none of these results matched those of the culprit, he added.
He said DNA results had confirmed that the same culprit raped and murdered eight children in Kasur, including Zainab.
On Friday, the LHC chief justice gave 36-hour deadline to the IG Punjab to arrest the culprit and submit a report on next hearing on Monday.
