KARACHI: Based on forensic evidence including DNA profiling, a man held three days ago was found to be involved in the rape of over 100 boys in the city over a period of more than five years, police said on Saturday.

City police chief Azad Khan said that two suspects were arrested by Surjani police three days ago when they were allegedly taking a minor boy on a motorbike with the intention to sexually assault him.

“They were handed over to Tipu Sultan police. When SP Investigation Usman Sadozai went through the case, he found similarities with previous cases,” he said, adding, “He brought victims from old cases, who identified one of the suspects physically”.

He said that the motorbike recovered from the suspect was matched with CCTV footage from previous cases.

Investigators say DNA of held suspect matches in seven cases; police claim man raped 100 boys between 2020 and 2025

“Later, he also confessed to almost a dozen [rape] cases. DNA [sample] has been sent today [Saturday] and the result is awaited,” the police chief said.

The city police chief said that there was no evidence so far that the suspects filmed any rape incident. “In investigation so far no case of rape with murder has come to fore. However, upon resistance one victim boy was injured,” he said.

Describing him as a serial rapist, SSP Sadozai told Dawn that the suspect is a resident of Manzoor Colony and a mechanic by profession. He maintained that the investigations were still underway.

He said recently the police received a laboratory report about seven sodomy cases involving boys that took place between 2020 and 2025. The medical report confirmed that the same person was involved in these cases as his DNA had been matched.

Subsequently, Mr Khan established a task force comprising all investigation officers (IOs) and SSPs (Investigation) of the metropolis to work on it.

“The story of all sodomy cases was the same,” said the senior officer.

He said the suspect used to kidnap a child aged between 10 and 14 from different parts of the metropolis between 6pm and midnight.

He would take the victim on a motorbike and subject him to sexual assault along the Malir river bank. Subsequently, he would drop the survivor at the same place from where he had picked him up.

He said that besides the DNA-matching cases, three victims had also identified him as the alleged rapist.

He added that in another case, a boy identified both suspects who had carried him to Surjani Town on a motorcycle for nefarious activity, but they dropped him when he raised a hue and cry.

Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah vowed that he would not tolerate child abuse cases.

While appreciating the police for the arrest of the suspect involved in the rape of over 100 children, he termed it a breakthrough.

It may be recalled that the city police chief has set up an investigation team under the supervision of Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) DIG Muquddus Haider for the investigation of sodomy cases, which appear to have been committed by the same accused according to DNA analysis on January 6, 2026.

Other members of the team included SSP Investigation Malir, SSP AVCC, SSP Investigation Korangi, SSP Investigation East and SSP Investigation South.

The seven sodomy cases had taken place in Sharafi Goth, Zaman Town, Korangi Industrial Area, Mehmoodabad and three in Defence.

The team was directed to ensure concrete efforts are made to identify and arrest the accused involved in these incidents and to complete the investigation in all aspects with cogent evidence.

The probing team may co-opt any officer from the Karachi range to assist in the investigation, as per the city police chief’s order. The team was asked to submit a progress report on a day-to-day basis.

Published in Dawn, January 18th, 2026