KARACHI, Aug 15: The Anti-terrorism Court-1 on Tuesday recorded the statement of prosecution witnesses — a judicial magistrate and a woman doctor — in a kidnapping, rape and murder of a minor girl on Feb 22, 2006 in the Rizvia Society police station.

ATC-1 Judge Ghulam Ali A. Samtio had indicted Aleem Ahmed alias Babloo, son of Abdur Rasheed, in the case on July 23 but the accused pleaded not guilty.

On Tuesday, the court recorded the statement of the Judicial Magistrate-6 (Central), Ayub Bhatti, who said the accused had been produced before court soon after his arrest. The other prosecution witness, Dr Yasmeen, told the judge that she had examined the victim girl’s body and confirmed that she had died as a result of her rape.

The court put off further hearing to Thursday, and asked the Special Public Prosecutor, Niamat Ali Randhawa, to produce the investigation officer of the case as a prosecution witness.

According to the prosecution, the three-year-old girl had been kidnapped from near her house by the accused, who subjected her to rape. The girl fainted and, later, died. The accused wrapped her body in a cloth sheet and disposed it of into a sewer. However, a police constable and a resident of the locality caught him on suspicion of having committed some crime.

He was brought to the Rizvia Society police station where, according to the police, he confessed to his crime.

The police later retrieved the body from the Gutter Baghicha section of the sewer with the help of Edhi volunteers.