KARACHI: Police made little headway in the investigation into the brutal rape and murder of a three-year-old girl.

The body of Kulsoom Qasim stuffed in a gunny bag was found outside her Quaidabad home and an autopsy confirmed that she was subjected to “violent rape”.

Described as “one of the most horrific cases” the police surgeon had seen in her career, the incident shocked the entire city, prompting the Sindh police chief to form a special team to investigate the case.

Malir SSP (Investigation) Majida Perveen Halepota told Dawn on Thursday that DNA samples from some suspicious persons had been collected for cross-matching.

Another officer, who is also a member of the special team, told Dawn that the samples were collected by a team of doctors, led by Police Surgeon Summaiya Syed, from 12 persons living in the same neighbourhood.

The officer said investigators had identified three persons as potential suspects. However, they would only be detained for questioning if the lab report confirmed their DNA in cross-matching.

According to the FIR lodged by the girl’s father at the Quaidabad police station, Kulsoom went out of her home at around 12 noon to play but had not returned by 4:30 pm. Her mother called the complainant and informed him about her disappearance. The family launched a search on their own but to no avail.

Later in the evening, when Kulsoom’s grandfather returned home from a mosque, he saw a gunny bag lying at the main gate of his house. When he opened it, to his horror, he found the body of his granddaughter.

Published in Dawn, June 26 , 2026