ISLAMABAD: The Punjab police informed the Supreme Court on Thursday that DNA samples taken from the body of Zainab, who was brutally raped and murdered in Kasur, had been sent to the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA).

The evidence will be used for DNA profiling and the samples will be compared with results already available in similar cases.

The forensic profiling will help determine whether the perpetrators behind Zainab’s gruesome murder were the same as the ones wanted in at least 10 other similar cases reported over the past 12 months, including the sexual abuse scandal that shook the entire country.

The report was submitted to the apex court in compliance with the directives issued by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, who had asked Punjab Inspector General Arif Nawaz Khan for a comprehensive report.

Punjab police report claims Kasur DC’s guards fired on violent mob that threatened govt installations

The city of Kasur erupted in riots and violence when the minor’s body was found in a garbage dump on Tuesday after she had gone missing from her house five days ago.

The police report was furnished before the court by Punjab Additional Inspector General Abubakar Khuda Buksh, who informed the court that the Punjab government had already constituted a joint investigation team (JIT) under his supervision. Mr Buksh is the same officer who had led the investigation into the child pornography ring that came to light in Kasur a couple of years ago.

The Punjab government has also announced a Rs10 million reward for anyone who provides information that leads to the suspect’s arrest.

The report stated that police had already launched operations, interrogated 227 suspects and conducted a house-to-house search.

CCTV clips from different cameras installed on nearby roads and streets were also examined, which yielded the image of an unidentified suspect carrying the abducted girl in a remote area on Peru Wala Road in Kasur.

Since the video was of extremely poor quality, the face of the accused could not be positively identified. In this regard, the FPSA has been requested to enhance the video quality.

The report said the post-mortem on the body of the girl was carried out by a woman medical officer, while forensic experts collected circumstantial evidence from the crime scene. Call data records have also been obtained in order to establish the suspect’s identity, while the geo-fencing of the area has also been conducted.

Charges of murder and tampering with evidence have also been added to theFIR in the case, which has been handed over to Sub-Inspector Iftikhar Ahmed.

The report said the regional police officer Sheikhupura, district police officer Kasur and superintendent of police (investigation) would supervise the probe.

Without mentioning the deaths that occurred when protesters were fired at in Kasur, the report acknowledged that after the recovery of Zainab’s body, a large group of locals became violent and held a protest. “The mob destroyed private and government properties and tried to enter the office of the deputy commissioner,” the report said, adding that official’s guards opened fire, and a case in this regard had been registered under the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997.

Police had also prepared a sketch of the suspect with help from eyewitnesses, the report said, adding that the investigation was being personally monitored by a high-powered team, headed by the Punjab AIG.

The Supreme Court also issued a clarification on Thrusday regarding a claim by senior counsel Ahmed Raza Kasuri, who had quoted the chief justice as saying that Zainab’s murderer had been arrested. The clarification stated that the chief justice had only referred to a news item that had gone viral on social media.

Published in Dawn, January 12th, 2018