RAWALPINDI: A local magistrate’s court on Monday remanded the four suspects, including two women, in police custody for four days in the rape and murder case of an orphan girl.

According to the police initial investigation, the brother-in-law of the girl and his neighbour sexually assaulted the victim for months. When she became pregnant, the four suspects planned to poison her and bury the body to conceal their crime, police said.

As the scope of investigation into the case was enlarged, the police detained another person, who used to park his vehicle at the residence of the girls’ brother-in-law.

All four suspects were produced in the court of magistrate Hasnat Aslam Gondal from where they were handed over to the police on four days’ physical remand as the police were to recover the batons used by the suspects in torturing the girl and the poisonous pills given to the deceased.

On the other hand, the police obtained DNA samples from the arrested suspects to identify the rapists/killers and build evidence for criminal prosecution. As part of the investigation, the police have also confiscated the mobile phones of the suspects.

The four suspects were arrested after exhumation of the body of the 21-year-old orphan girl showed that she was eight months pregnant when murdered by poisoning and buried to hide the crime in the Jatli police station area.

“In light of the circumstances and events, initial investigation, post-mortem and forensic evidence, solid evidence of rape and poisoning of the victim emerged,” a police spokesman said. The girl as living with her sister’s in-laws since her parents died.

She was subjected to torture, sexually assaulted by her sister’s husband and his neighbour. After she became eight months pregnant, she was tortured and forced on abortion. However, after their efforts proved unproductive, the suspects subjected her to physical assault and finally poisoned her to death and buried the body.

Published in Dawn, February 4th, 2025