KOHAT: A police team probing the murder of a seven-year-old girl arrested her cousin for the offence late Tuesday night.

Hangu district police officer Shahid Ahmed confided to Dawn that both the accused and the victim lived in the same house.

He said Mohammad Ilyas took her to a nearby forest on Saturday evening with the intention of sexually assaulting her, but as she resisted the move and screamed, he shot her dead and fled away.

The girl’s father had reported to the police her abduction by unknown persons.

After the incident, the government had constituted a joint investigation team headed by DIG Kohat division Tayyab Hafeez Cheema.

It held about 15 suspects, including relatives of the girl. Among them was Mohammad Ilyas, first cousin of the victim, who admitted to the crime during interrogation, said Mr Ahmed.

The DPO said Ilyas told the police that he did not rape her, and only killed her when she started screaming.

The medical superintendent of the district headquarters hospital, Hangu, told Dawn that there were no signs of rape found on the body during its postmortem. However, he said the swab sample had been sent to Peshawar for DNA test which will take some time to come.

SEMINAR ON CURBING DRUG USE: Speakers at a seminar on Wednesday expressed concern over the increasing number of youth getting addicted to drugs and indulging in crimes.

They stressed the role of parents, community, media and police in curbing the menace on a war footing.

The seminar was organised by a local addicts treatment centre namely Da Haq Awaz (voice for right).

Deputy director Anti-Narcotics Force, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ahmed Bin Tariq, director social welfare Mohammad Shoeb, district social welfare officer Amjid Afridi, chairman Da Haq Awaz Mohammad Shafique, senior vice president Abdul Aziz, secretary general Mohammad Adnan, DSP Bashir Dad and others spoke on the occasion.

Bashir Dad said the police had launched special operations against drug traffickers, which was bearing fruits.

The speakers said that crime and terrorism were directly related to the drug abuse.

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2020