Police claim 'breakthrough' in Chunian rape-slay case investigation

KASUR: In what is being dubbed as a major breakthrough, police on Thursday have arrested a man in connection with the rape and murder of three children in Chunian city of Punjab’s Kasur district, ARY News reported.

 

According to Kasur’s district police officer (DPO), the suspect was arrested during a raid in Rahim Yar Khan and now his  DNA samples will be sent to a lab for testing; results of which would determine whether he was involved in the incident or not.

The police officer said the suspect had disappeared after the crime. The police have been carrying out raids to arrest the suspect whose whereabouts are unknown after the incident, he added.

The DPO expressed the optimism that they would soon arrest the actual culprits.

The police had previously arrested dozens of people and sent DNA samples of 500 suspects to the lab but failed to get substantial results of their investigations.

Chief Minister of Punjab Usman Buzdar has announced five million rupees bounty for arrest or providing information about the culprits of the incident.

The incident that shook Pakistan once again

Four children between eight to 12 years of age had gone missing in Chunian since June.

Last week, the police were informed about the body of a child in a ditch. Later, the police also recovered remains of two more minors from the sand dunes. A wave of shock and terror gripped Chunian when the police recovered the bodies.

Locals suspected a gang was behind the killing of minor boys after rape.

The traders association of Chunian had today given a call for a strike to protest against the incident.

Infuriated participants of the protest attacked the police station with sticks and pelted stones at the premises. The protesters also burned tyres at roads and chanted slogans against police to express their anger and disappointment over the department’s failure in the safe return of the missing children.

After the incident, the attendance of children in local schools goes down and the streets of the area have deserted.