DADU: Antiterrorism court in Naushahro Feroze on Thursday remanded the suspected rapist of a three-year-old girl, who had reportedly already confessed to his crime, for six days in police custody to allow investigators to further probe the case.

Dadu SSP Aijaz Ahmed Shaikh said that the suspect had confessed before police to raping the minor girl. The suspect admitted that he snatched the girl in Channo Shahabad mohalla in Dadu a day before while she was playing in front of her house and took her to his residence nearby where he subjected her to rape and then threw the girl before her house, said the SSP.

He said that police had registered an FIR under Sections 376 PPC and 6/7 ATA against the suspect on a complaint lodged by the victim’s uncle.

Team formed to probe the case

Hyderabad DIG Sharjeel Kharal has constituted an investigation team led by Dadu SSP to interrogate the rape suspect.

He presented appreciation certificates to the SSP, SHO of woman police station Benazir Jamali and five other police officials for immediately arresting the suspect. The probe team comprised DSP Dadu city, SHO Benazir Jamali and SHO of B-Section police station, he said.

Meanwhile, doctors at Dadu Civil Hospital referred the child to Liaquat University Hospital, Hyderabad branch, on Thursday for better treatment.

The girl’s mother told reporters that doctors believed she was still not out of danger.

A large number of civil society activists took out rallies and staged demonstrations in the city on Thursday against the incident.

Child Rights Committee’s Niaz Ahmed Chandio and Sajid Mastoi, social activist Abbas Vighio and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s Sardar Rajib Khan Shahani led the rallies.

Published in Dawn, February 19th, 2021