CHARSADDA: The police on Monday arrested a man suspected of raping and killing a minor girl here.

The police claimed that the suspect, a resident of Sheikh Kallay area of Charsadda district, had confessed to the crime.

They said a sickle used to kill the two and a half years old girl, one of her shoes, a mobile phone and aphrodisiacs were also seized.

The police claimed that the 47-year-old suspect had informed the prayer leader of a local mosque about the presence of the girl’s body in fields.

They said the suspect, who lived with his mother, was unmarried and was a mentally challenged person, while his family had shifted to the area from Agra union council 15 years ago and was provided with housing by the local landlords.

Law minister Sultan Mohammad and special assistant to the chief minister on information Kamran Bangash told a news conference presser here that the police deserved praise for arresting the suspected killer within a week of the crime.

The minister said the girl went missing on Oct 6 after she stepped out for playing.

He said the local police began investigations into the case in collaboration with the Peshawar police.

Mr Sultan said the police carried out the profiling of 388 houses in the area and held 60-70 people on suspicion.

The body was found abandoned in Jabba Koroona area and was shifted to the district headquarters hospital, where a medical examination confirmed sexual assault.

DNA samples collected from the body were sent to the forensic science laboratory of the Khyber Medical College, Peshawar.

The police had included the Pakistan Penal Code sections, which deal with sexual assault and murder, in the FIR.

Published in Dawn, October 13th, 2020