CM Punjab demands public hanging of Zainab's murderer

LAHORE: Chief Minister Punjab Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday addressed the media in Lahore after police arrested the prime suspect in the case pertaining to rape and murder of seven-year old Zainab Ameen and demanded public execution for the culprit, ARY News reported.

Kidnapped on January 4 and found from a rubbish heap on January 9, Zainab Ameen Ansari’s rape and murder sparked angry protests across Pakistan and waked up the nation to the ugly reality of prevalent child abuse in the country with court ordering police to arrest the culprit as soon as possible.

As the police, with the help of Punjab Forensic Science Agency and intelligence agencies, claimed that they have arrested the prime suspect in the case and that his DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) matched that of the sample collected in at least eight rape-slay cases including that of Zainab; the CM addressed media and briefed the press about how the team formed to nab the culprit worked and arrested the prime suspect.

Shehbaz Sharif thanked the intelligence agencies, police team and the PFSA over their efforts which led to the arrest of the suspect.

Sharing details regarding the process which led to the arrest of suspect, Shehbaz Sharif said that Zainab’s father, the general public and even he himself demands public hanging of the culprit and pleads that the court grant him an exemplary punishment.

“I had promised Haji Ameen (Zainab’s father) when I first met him that I and my team will leave no stone unturned to arrest the culprit,” said Shehbaz Sharif.

He added that 1150 DNA profiles were taken to match the DNA obtained from crime scene by PFSA and today, a polygraph test was also done which proved that Imran Arshad is the culprit in the horrific rape and murder case.

“The culprit’s name is Imran. He is a resident of Kasur and he is 24 years old. He is a serial killer,” announced the CM Punjab.

Shehbaz Sharif also thanked Inter Services Intelligence & Intelligence Bureau for helping the JIT.

How was the prime suspect arrested

A representative of Punjab Forensice Science Agency (PFSA) briefed the media about how Imran Arshad was arrested.

In a step by step guide to the process, the PFSA representative said that the team received the DNA sample on January 20, 2018 and then the sample was processed for next two days while the completion of DNA profiling was done on January 22 (yesterday).

He maintained that the PFSA crime scene teams camped at Kasur and collected samples of male population aged 20-45 years in 2.5 kilometer radius of the crime scene. 1150 samples were received and the sample no. 814 was of Imran Arshad which was received on January 20.

The DNA profile was developed and matched on January 22 and the polygraph test was conducted today.

Explaining the DNA profile probablity, the PFSA representative said that the Random Match Probability of the DNA profile of Imran Arshad is 01 in 178 Quadrillion.

“It means if there are 178 Quadrillion male people at one place, chance of having this profile is only 1 which is Imran’s DNA profile,” said the PFSA representative.

#JusticeForZainab

Kidnapped on January 4 and found from a garbage heap on January 9, Zainab’s autopsy report suggested that the minor was sexually assaulted before being strangulated to death.

Justice For Zainab: 7-year-old’s rape, murder shakes Pakistan

The girl’s rape and murder sparked outrage among the residents of the city and whole of Pakistan with social activists and general public starting a trend #JusticeForZainab on social media.

Zainab’s parents were performing Umrah when the incident occurred, as they landed back in Pakistan, they demanded justice from Chief Justice of Pakistan and Chief of Army Staff (COAS).

On January 21, the Supreme Court gave three days’ time to a joint investigation team formed to probe the rape and murder of Zainab to track down the culprit.