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Justice for Zainab: Riots erupt in Kasur after 8-year-old's alleged rape, murder
Dawn.com | Afzal Ansari | Waseem Riaz | Nadir GuramaniUpdated January 10, 2018
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Riots erupted in Kasur on Wednesday over police inaction after reports of the alleged rape and murder of an 8-year-old began circulating on social media.
Two people were killed as enraged protesters stormed the deputy commissioner's office with sticks and stones, with two others were injured in the clashes.
What we know so far:
The gang allegedly abducted and sexually assaulted at least 280 children in the area, had blackmailed the families of the victims since 2009, and even sold video clips and images of the assault.
Girl goes missing
Zainab, 8, was last known to have attended a tuition centre near her house in the Road Kot area last Thursday, after which she was allegedly abducted. Zainab's parents had gone to perform Umrah and, according to the family, were scheduled to return that very day.
Her panicked family received footage showing her with a stranger near Peerowala Road, a video which has since gone viral on social media.
On Tuesday, a police constable deputed to trace the girl recovered her body from a heap of trash near Shahbaz Khan Road.
Police said the girl seemed to have been killed four or five days ago, and sent her body to the District Headquarters Hospital for an autopsy where a number of people had gathered.
Police had reluctantly handed her body over to the family due to apprehension over a protest.
Police investigate as protests erupt
Regional Police Officer (RPO) Kasur Zulfikar Muhammad confirmed today that the girl was strangled to death. He told the media that Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has directed the forensic lab to expedite the process for Zainab's autopsy.
"Naturally, there is also a certain amount of time that the processing will take; there is a certain amount of time that the lab takes," he said.
The recovery of Zainab's body ignited protests and a shutter-down strike in the city on Tuesday.
As word got around, traders shuttered their shops and staged a protest demonstration. Scores of other people also gathered at Steel Bagh Mor near the hospital and protested with the girl's body in the middle of the road. They also threw traffic out of gear by burning tyres on Ferozepur Road and chanted slogans against police and local parliamentarians for their alleged apathy.
Today, enraged citizens armed with sticks and stones stormed the deputy commissioner's office in protest over police inaction.
At least two protesters were killed in the ensuing clashes, and two others injured, hospital sources said.
People from other parts of the county took to social media to share their anger and outrage over the murder, using the hashtag #JusticeForZainab.
Sana appeals for calm
Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah appealed for calm, saying the provincial government had "taken notice of the case".
"People need to keep their emotions in check and not aggravate the situation," he advised.
Sanaullah said the culprit seems to be an acquaintance of the family. He added that a child's safety is its parents' responsibility.
Rights activist Farzana Bari observed that people "feel unsafe" and "have lost all trust in state institutions".
"These people that are protesting do not have a leader, they are not being led," she pointed out. "They are all protesting because they feel unsafe."
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed while speaking to DawnNews said the culprits in such cases "should be found and hanged" so that such incidents don't occur again.
Philanthropist Sarim Burney accused those in power of only being concerned about "safeguarding" their power, whereas those not in power seem interested only in attaining it.
"Why is the PTI not protesting now? Why is Tahirul Qadri silent? He has been concerned about his 14 people (victims of the Lahore Model Town tragedy), however he has nothing to say about these children," he lamented.
'Unforgivable' incident
Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Punjab CM Shahbaz Sharif and the Senate Standing Committee on Interior took notice of the incident today and ordered the Punjab police to take swift action.
Sharif directed the inspector general of Punjab to bring the culprits to task as soon as possible and to submit an investigation report on the matter.
Rana Sanaullah was optimistic that the perpetrators would be arrested within the next eight to 10 hours.
Senate Committee Chairman Rehman Malik called the incident unforgivable and ordered that the Punjab police submit a report on the matter within the next five days.
Malik also said that the Inspector General of Punjab should personally investigate the matter and treat it as a challenge.
The District Bar Association (DBA) has announced boycott of court proceedings today to express solidarity with the bereaved family and build pressure on the law-enforcement agencies to arrest the killer.
Dawn.com | Afzal Ansari | Waseem Riaz | Nadir GuramaniUpdated January 10, 2018
106
16
Riots erupted in Kasur on Wednesday over police inaction after reports of the alleged rape and murder of an 8-year-old began circulating on social media.
Two people were killed as enraged protesters stormed the deputy commissioner's office with sticks and stones, with two others were injured in the clashes.
What we know so far:
- FIR was registered on Jan 5, day after the girl went missing
- CCTV footage of girl with a stranger circulated on social media
- Police find girl allegedly raped and murdered in trash heap on Tuesday
- Police confirm that girl was strangled
- Citizens stage protest, shutter-down strike in Kasur
- Social media outrage over police inaction
- LHC CJ, Punjab CM, Senate take notice of case
- Protesters storm DC office demanding action, 2 killed
The gang allegedly abducted and sexually assaulted at least 280 children in the area, had blackmailed the families of the victims since 2009, and even sold video clips and images of the assault.
Girl goes missing
Zainab, 8, was last known to have attended a tuition centre near her house in the Road Kot area last Thursday, after which she was allegedly abducted. Zainab's parents had gone to perform Umrah and, according to the family, were scheduled to return that very day.
Her panicked family received footage showing her with a stranger near Peerowala Road, a video which has since gone viral on social media.
On Tuesday, a police constable deputed to trace the girl recovered her body from a heap of trash near Shahbaz Khan Road.
Police said the girl seemed to have been killed four or five days ago, and sent her body to the District Headquarters Hospital for an autopsy where a number of people had gathered.
Police had reluctantly handed her body over to the family due to apprehension over a protest.
Police investigate as protests erupt
Regional Police Officer (RPO) Kasur Zulfikar Muhammad confirmed today that the girl was strangled to death. He told the media that Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has directed the forensic lab to expedite the process for Zainab's autopsy.
"Naturally, there is also a certain amount of time that the processing will take; there is a certain amount of time that the lab takes," he said.
The recovery of Zainab's body ignited protests and a shutter-down strike in the city on Tuesday.
As word got around, traders shuttered their shops and staged a protest demonstration. Scores of other people also gathered at Steel Bagh Mor near the hospital and protested with the girl's body in the middle of the road. They also threw traffic out of gear by burning tyres on Ferozepur Road and chanted slogans against police and local parliamentarians for their alleged apathy.
Today, enraged citizens armed with sticks and stones stormed the deputy commissioner's office in protest over police inaction.
At least two protesters were killed in the ensuing clashes, and two others injured, hospital sources said.
People from other parts of the county took to social media to share their anger and outrage over the murder, using the hashtag #JusticeForZainab.
Sana appeals for calm
Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah appealed for calm, saying the provincial government had "taken notice of the case".
"People need to keep their emotions in check and not aggravate the situation," he advised.
Sanaullah said the culprit seems to be an acquaintance of the family. He added that a child's safety is its parents' responsibility.
Rights activist Farzana Bari observed that people "feel unsafe" and "have lost all trust in state institutions".
"These people that are protesting do not have a leader, they are not being led," she pointed out. "They are all protesting because they feel unsafe."
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed while speaking to DawnNews said the culprits in such cases "should be found and hanged" so that such incidents don't occur again.
Philanthropist Sarim Burney accused those in power of only being concerned about "safeguarding" their power, whereas those not in power seem interested only in attaining it.
"Why is the PTI not protesting now? Why is Tahirul Qadri silent? He has been concerned about his 14 people (victims of the Lahore Model Town tragedy), however he has nothing to say about these children," he lamented.
'Unforgivable' incident
Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Punjab CM Shahbaz Sharif and the Senate Standing Committee on Interior took notice of the incident today and ordered the Punjab police to take swift action.
Sharif directed the inspector general of Punjab to bring the culprits to task as soon as possible and to submit an investigation report on the matter.
Rana Sanaullah was optimistic that the perpetrators would be arrested within the next eight to 10 hours.
Senate Committee Chairman Rehman Malik called the incident unforgivable and ordered that the Punjab police submit a report on the matter within the next five days.
Malik also said that the Inspector General of Punjab should personally investigate the matter and treat it as a challenge.
The District Bar Association (DBA) has announced boycott of court proceedings today to express solidarity with the bereaved family and build pressure on the law-enforcement agencies to arrest the killer.
