March 02, 2008	Sunday	Safar 23, 1429

SAHIWAL, March 1: A man was arrested for killing a nine-year-old girl after subjecting her to rape here on Friday night.

According to the FIR, Yaqoob, an employee of a local building department officer, enticed the victim, Sana, daughter of a tube-well operator, to his house while she was playing outside her house.

After raping the victim, the accused killed her by hitting her hard on the head with a brick.

The callous act was exposed when some passers by spotted the naked body of the girl lying in the open.

Earlier, some 200 residents of the area staged a protest demonstration blocking a busy road by placing the victim’s body in the middle of it.

The protesters who also burnt tires were raising slogans against police for inaction and demanding arrest of the culprit(s).

"We will not burry the child until the accused is brought to justice," said an aunt of the victim. The protesters later moved to the GT Road and blocked traffic there. The police immediately arrived at the scene and started baton charge.

The police also picked up the district correspondent of a private television channel and took him to city police station for `inciting violence’.

Local journalists were negotiating the release of their colleague with the police till filing of the report.—Shafiq Butt