SWAT: Police on Thursday resolved a mystery surrounding the death of a 12-year-old girl in the Shakardara area of Matta tehsil here by arresting her two uncles as the accused.

Initial reports suggested that the girl died by suicide, but police have now declared that the girl was brutally murdered.

The investigation uncovered “evidence of torture and foul play,” so the accused have been taken into custody, according to police.

Sub-Divisional Police Officer of the Matta Circle Bakht Zada Khan told reporters that on April 4, the girl was buried without any legal procedures, with the family declaring her death as a case of suicide.

He said the police, with permission from a local magistrate, exhumed the body for postmortem, which revealed that the girl was tortured to death.

Initially, the FIR was registered against unidentified individuals. However, on the directives of District Police Officer Nasir Mehmood, the department formed a special investigation team, led by SP Upper Swat Shaukat Ali and supervised by SDPO Bakht Zada Khan.

The team pursued multiple angles leading to the arrest of the deceased’s maternal uncle, Dost Mohammad, and paternal uncle, Alf Zada, as accused.

According to investigators, the motive behind the murder was the girl’s opposition to the accused’s alleged extramarital affair with a female member of the family. The suspects are currently in police custody, with legal proceedings under way.

Published in Dawn, April 18th, 2025