PESHAWAR: The burnt body of a seven-year-old girl was found in a graveyard of Badhber area here on Thursday morning, a day after she went missing.

The incident was the second of its kind in the area in less than a week’s time as last Saturday, the body of a four-year-old boy with ruptured abdomen was recovered in a neighbouring village. The girl’s body was found in Balukhel Bala area falling in the limits of the Badbher police station.

The residents staged a protest against the incident and blocked the main Kohat Road for several hours. They dispersed in the evening after senior police officials assured them of the early arrest of the culprits.

The police and residents told Dawn that the girl had gone missing at around 3pm on Wednesday, while her burnt body was found on Thursday morning.

Peshawar SSP (operations) Mansoor Aman said the girl’s disappearance was reported to the local police station on Wednesday evening and that the police officials got in contact with her father the same day.

He said the police also joined search for the missing girl in the area but the burnt body was found in a local graveyard on Thursday morning.

SSP Aman said the city police had tasked their best officers with investigating the case, while teams had been formed to collect intelligence and forensic evidence and carry out profiling and investigations.

Neighbour Hazrat Umar told Dawn that the girl, who was around seven, had gone missing at around 3pm on Wednesday.

He said the girl had gone to a nearby shop after being given Rs10 by her grandfather, but she didn’t return.

The neighbour said the family members began search for the girl soon after she disappeared, while the police were also informed about it.

He said the girl’s body was spotted by a gravedigger.

“The gravedigger saw fire inside the cemetery and when he got there, he found human remains in it,” he said, adding that the matter was reported to the police afterward.

The police officials rushed to the graveyard and shifted the burnt body to the hospital for postmortem.

Chief Minister Mahmood Khan also took notice of the murder and burning of the body and directed provincial police chief Dr Sanaullah Abbasi to ensure the early arrest of the culprit(s).

Dr Abbasi called the girl’s father, expressed sorrow over the killing and assured him of the early arrest of the killer.

Published in Dawn, November 20th, 2020