RAWALPINDI: The police have sought the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra), Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and intelligence agencies’ assistance in the investigation of the death of a nine-year-old boy whose body was found near his home a week after he went missing.

The police have also decided to launch an intelligence gathering operation in which trainee assistant sub-inspectors (TASIs) will be deployed in disguise in the area where the body was found.

Sources said a group of TASIs were called by senior police officers on Friday and briefed on the operation, which will be launched in the next 48 hours.

The initial autopsy report was unable to establish the cause of Naveed Khan’s death or find signs of trauma. The police are waiting for forensic and DNA reports to establish how the child died after he disappeared.

Khan went missing on Oct 10 after he left his house to go to a nearby market in Shah Khalid Colony. His body was found in a field five metres from his home in the same colony on Oct 16.

Superintendent of Police Syed Ali told Dawn the police carried out an extensive search operation around the colony on Thursday and found a pair of slippers believed to be the boy’s. Khan’s body was also found wearing the same clothes that he was wearing when he went missing.

Mr Ali said the police have sought assistance from Nadra, the CTD, Special Branch and the Intelligence Bureau for the murder case registered regarding Khan’s death. He said the police have enough evidence for DNA testing, including the boy’s clothes and slippers as well as fingerprints.

The child’s family confirmed that he was wearing the same slippers when he went missing.

Crime scene and forensic science laboratory teams have collected evidence from the crime scene, and the police are investigating two security guards working at a mobile phone company because they allegedly had information on the presence of a body in the field but avoided informing the authorities, which police said is a criminal act in itself.

They are also investigating criminals in the area, including people with records, as well as suspects in unrelated cases.

Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2019