Grief in Kasur as residents mourn murder of minor rape victim

KASUR: Grief and shock were evident on the faces of residents of Punjab’s Kasur city as they tried desperately to come to grips with coldblooded murder of 7-year-old Zainab after being sexually assaulted for second day on Thursday. 

Zainab’s body was found dumped in a garbage heap near Kashmir Chowk in Kasur on Tuesday. In light of initial postmortem, it was said the minor has been sexually assaulted multiple times before her murder.

The minor was a resident of Road Kot area of Kasur and was abducted on January 5 (Friday) while she was on her way to tuition centre.

The incident which shook the whole country and made headlines around the world was widely condemned and calls for justice echoed on social media and other platforms.

Tensions persist in Kasur for second day

Protests in the Kasur soon erupted after Zainab’s body was recovered from a garbage heap on Tuesday, which are still ongoing.

The residents are protesting at Kali Pul Chowk, whereas the city’s main artery has been blocked for commuters. Markets and shops are also closed in protest against the heart-wrenching incident.

The Punjab Bar Council also announced a complete boycott of courts today and lawyers have demanded immediate arrest of the killer(s).

The protests claimed two lives when police resorted to firing in a bid to stop the protesters from surrounding the District Police Officer (DPO) and District Coordination Officer (DCO) offices.

They were identified as Shoaib and Mohammad Ali. Their funeral prayers were offered on Thursday amid presence of large number of people including social and political activists.

The post-mortem of slain protesters is expected to be released later today.

Keeping the tense situation in view, the authorities have called in additional police contingents to control the law and order situation on Thursday.

FIRs lodged against policemen

Two FIRs have been registered against 16 ‘unidentified’ policemen on the complaints of the slain protesters’ relatives. The FIRs have been registered under murder charges.

To diffuse mounting pressure, authorities also claimed to have arrested two policemen for resorting to firing to disperse the protesters.

Punjab govt announces Rs1 million reward for info on suspect

Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday announced Rs10 million reward for any information about the identity of the culprit.

The chief minister also announced Rs3 million for heirs of the slain protesters, who were killed in police action on Wednesday.