The “main suspect” involved in gang-rape and murder of a 12-year old girl in Karachi was arrested, police said on Wednesday.

A 12-year girl was found raped and murdered in Karachi’s Saddar area on Sunday.

According to Police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed, the girl’s body, which was found in a bag, was brought to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) by Saddar police for medical examination.

Meanwhile, Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori and Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah had taken notice of the rape and murder of the minor and had directed the police to take immediate action and ensure the arrest of the culprits involved.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) South Syed Asad Raza, while talking to Dawn.com, said that the arrested individual — who worked as a watchman at Bara Market near Cantonment Station — was the main suspect in the crime.

DIG Raza said that the police had identified three suspects involved in the incident, however, the two others — employees of the Shalimar bus terminal — had fled.

The victim lived underneath the Lilly Bridge at Cantt. Station along with her mother.

She was playing at the bus terminus when the suspects kidnapped her, DIG said, adding that they took her to their office where they committed the heinous crime.

He said that police had arrested the suspects with the help of the CCTV footage and by utilising technical resources.

He said the police had taken DNA samples of seven people and interrogated more than 20 suspects.

He said this was a challenging case for the police but with the help of CCTV footage, investigators identified the bike and the suspects.

“The suspects involved in the girl’s rape and murder would be taken to task,” the south zone police head said.

In March this year, data released by Sahil — an NGO working for the welfare of children — revealed that in 2023, a total of 4,213 child abuse cases had been reported from all four provinces as well as the Islamabad Capital Territory, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan.

A gender-divide analysis of the data showed that out of the total reported cases, 2,251 (53 per cent) of victims were girls and 1,962 (47 per cent) were boys. The reported age showed that children were most vulnerable to abuse in the age group of 6-15 years, in which more cases of boys than girls were reported.

Moreover, children as young as 0-5 years were also sexually abused. The abuser’s category indicated that acquaintances were still the most involved in child sexual abuse, along with relatives, family members, strangers, and women abettors.