A court in Karachi on Tuesday remanded in judicial custody a man detained for allegedly raping a minor Christian girl.

Police had arrested and booked the Muslim suspect for allegedly sexually assaulting his 10-year-old neighbour in the city's Essa Nagri area on May 4.

On Tuesday, the investigating officer (IO) produced the suspect before the judicial magistrate (East) upon expiry of his physical remand in police custody and requested an extension in the same for interrogation.

The IO informed the magistrate that the suspect was a neighbour of the victim, adding that the victim used to visit his house for taking tuition classes from his sister.

On the day of the incident, the suspect allegedly subjected the minor girl to sexual assault when she came to his house to study, he said.

The IO said an extension in the suspect's custody was required for interrogation and completion of investigation and other legal formalities.

However, the judge remanded the suspect in judicial custody, directing the IO to produce him on the next date along with an investigation report.

After the incident, the victim's relatives and neighbours had surrounded the suspect's house but he had apparently managed to flee to avoid the wrath of the charged mob.

This had infuriated the protesters, who had turned violent and blocked the main road for vehicular movement. Some four policemen were reportedly injured during the protest.

Later, the suspect was arrested and booked in a case registered at the PIB Police Station.

'8 children abused daily'

As many as 2,960 major crimes against children were reported in the four provinces, Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) in 2020.

According to data released by the NGO Sahil, eight children were abused every day in Pakistan in one form or the other, while 51 per cent of the victims were girls and 49pc boys.

Out of the reported cases, 985 were of sodomy, 787 rape, 89 pornography and child sexual abuse and 80 were of murder after sexual abuse. Cases of abduction, missing children and child marriages were 834, 345 and 119, respectively.