THATTA: Police on Sunday claimed to have gunned down the man accused by parents of a teenage girl of raping their 14-year-old daughter’s freshly buried body after digging it out of the grave in Maulvi Ashraf Chandio village a day before.

Thatta SSP Dr Imran Khan said at a press conference in his office that police had arrested the suspected necrophile near Gharo but he attempted to escape from custody and started firing on police after taking up position behind thick bushes. But police soon succeeded to gun him down and recover a pistol from his custody, he said.

The parents of the accused refused to collect his body and village people too did not allow it to be buried in the village graveyard, said the SSP adding that the body was later handed over to the Edhi ambulance services.

The SSP suggested carrying out DNA tests on the bodies of the girl and the suspect to ascertain further facts.

Meanwhile, Sadiq Ali Memon, special assistant to chief minister on empowerment of persons with disabilities, said that timely action by police had brought the suspect involved in raping the dead body to his logical end. All the sick-minded persons who indulged in such heinous and shameful crimes must remember that they would never escape the wrath of God, he said.

He said at Maulvi Ashraf Chandio village after offering condolences to the victim’s heirs that it was indeed a very shocking and inhuman incident, which deserved condemnation by all segments of society.

He said that as soon as Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah were informed of the tragic incident, they directed immediate action against the suspect involved in the heinous act.

He said that he would also request financial assistance for the heirs of the victim so that their grief could be lessened. All members of society needed to work together to prevent occurrence of such incidents by keeping watch over elements who could be involved in heinous crimes, he said.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2021