Faisalabad child murder: 8-year-old boy found dead in neighbour’s house

FAISALABAD, June 24: Police recovered the body of 8-year-old Shakeel from a neighbor’s washroom Wednesday, a day after he disappeared from Sarli.

Shakeel, son of Saleem, left home on Tuesday to buy a bottle from a nearby shop. After the boy went missing for some time, the family searched through the night.

Officials said the body was found Wednesday morning inside Shakeel’s neighbour’s house. There were rope marks on the child’s neck. The neighbour identified as Anwar Ali was missing along with his family when police arrived. A case was registered and raids started.

Relatives told police they suspect Shakeel was sexually assaulted before being killed. Authorities said the exact cause of death will be confirmed after the post-mortem.

That’s where the process stalled. Six hours after recovery, the body was still outside Rural Health Centre Chak 30. No medical officer was on duty. Family members blocked the road and staged a protest, demanding the PMO be called in immediately.

Police said the investigation is ongoing and teams are trying to trace the absconding suspects.

This tragic event comes a day after the Sargodha incident, where a 7-year old girl, Muntaha Zahra, was raped and killed by a shopkeeper.

The tragic incident gained widespread attention after CCTV footage surfaced showing the innocent child entering a shop for the last time. Later, her body was recovered from the third floor of the same shop.

After the incident, the main accused Muhammad Arslan managed to flee the scene. However, police traced and arrested him with the help of modern technology.

During interrogation, accused Arslan confessed to the crime, police said.

As the prime suspect was being taken to the crime spot for recovery of murder weapon, some of his aides reportedly opened fire on the CCD team. As the CCD team responded to the attack, Arsalan was killed in cross-fire while the attackers, according to CCD officials, fled the scene.

Also Read: Sargodha child murder case: Main suspect confesses during investigation