SAHIWAL: An eight-year-old boy who had gone missing on Feb 17 (Saturday) was found strangled in the fields at 46/12-L village of Chichawatni tehsil on Monday.

According to police, Zawar, a class IV student, son of a local farmer Ramzan, had gone to fetch fodder for the cattle. When he did not return till late in the evening, his parents got worried and with the help of locals launched a search, but of no avail.

Next morning (Sunday), the parents reported the matter to Okianwal Bangla police, getting registered a kidnapping case against unidentified people.

On Monday, a local found the boy’s body in the fields at the village. A scarf was also found near the body, which the police said might have been used to strangle the boy. Preliminary police investigations show the boy strangled to death after rape.

Station House Officer Sub-Inspector Ijaz, told Dawn that police had picked four suspects and were interrogating them.

District Police Officer Dr Atif Ikram visited the village with a mobile forensic lab team to personally supervise the investigation into the case. The SHO said the body had been moved to the tehsil headquarters hospital for an autopsy.

The police have added murder (302 of the PPC) section to the FIR (No 45/18).

ARRESTED: Noor Shah police have arrested a man who allegedly raped a 12-year-old girl at 57/4-R village on Feb 18.

According to police, minor daughter of a village resident was playing in the street when the suspect, also a local, lured her to a sugarcane field and subjected her to assault. He fled the scene after committing the crime.

The police registered a case against the suspect under section 376 of the PPC and arrested him. The girl has been sent to the district headquarters hospital for medical examination.

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2018