NOWSHERA: A juvenile suspect arrested on charges of assaulting and killing a six-year-old girl confessed to his crime before a court here on Friday, stating that he killed the victim when she threatened to inform her and his parents about the occurrence.

Judicial magistrate Fozia Nasim sent the suspect to lock-up for 14 days after recording his confessional statement under section 164 of the CrPC.

The suspect, stated to be 16-17 years of age, was produced before the court after completion of his four-day physical custody. The court directed that he should be again produced on Sept 4.

In his confessional statement, the suspect said on the day of occurrence he spotted the deceased, and asked her to accompany him to a deserted poultry farm. He stated that after he sexually abused her she said she would let her parents know about the incident. Then, he added he slapped her, following which, she threatened to also tell his parents about the incident, after which he attacked her with a knife.

“I hit her repeatedly with a brick which resulted in her death. Afterwards I stuffed her body in a sack and let it there,” he said, adding he then returned home and took a bath.

Court sends him to jail on remand

Body of the girl stuffed in a sack was recovered from a poultry farm at Rashakai on August 15.

The occurrence had resulted into a public outcry with people demanding of the government and the police to arrest the culprits at the earliest.

Within a day of the occurrence the police had arrested the suspect, who is a neighbour of the deceased. Both the suspect and the deceased belong to Bajaur tribal district, but have been living in Hamza Rashakai area.

Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters blocked the GT Road at Shobra Chowk demanding of courts to award exemplary punishment to the accused.

The protesters were led by leaders of Jamiat-i-Ulema Islam-Fazl and Jamaat-i-Islami.

JUI-F Nowshera general secretary Mufti Hakim Ali said such incidents had been on the rise in the district. “If the government had executed the culprits in public, such incidents would not have taken place,” he said.

He demanded of the government to hang the suspect in public.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2020