LAHORE: Police in Kasur on Tuesday claimed to have arrested the man responsible for the heinous rape and murder of seven-year-old Zainab.
Zainab was kidnapped from near her aunt’s house on January 4 in Kasur. Her body was recovered from a garbage heap five days later. The post-mortem of the minor revealed that she had been raped before being murdered.
The suspect Imran who is said to be 24-years-old was familiar with Zainab’s family and would also frequent the minor girl’s house, police sources told Geo News.
Imran who is said to be a relative of the deceased and a resident of Kot Road where the young Zainab also resided.
Imran was picked up initially by the police but was let go without testing his DNA after the family intervened and identified him as someone familiar and trusted.
After being let go Imran had fled from Kasur and for a short while was residing in Pak Pattan.
On the orders of the District Police Officer (DPO) certain individuals were rounded-up again including Imran and their DNA tests were conducted.
The suspect was picked up five days earlier and interrogated which further confirmed that Imran was, in fact, the perpetrator of the crime.
According to police sources, Imran has confessed to his crime.
Additionally sources claim that Imran had shaved his beard after the incident which helped him evade arrest till now as the CCTV footage showed a man sporting a beard.
Detailed DNA report awaited
A spokesperson for the Punjab government confirmed that the suspect Imran had been arrested from near Pak Pattan.
According to the spokesperson, a confirmation on the suspect being Zainab’s killer will be given after a detailed DNA report is received. The forensic lab is scheduled to provide the DNA report at 7 PM