Sargodha police arrest four in murder case of seven-year-old girl

LAHORE/SARGODHA: Sargodha police said on Tuesday that four suspects had been arrested in the murder case of a seven-year-old girl whose body was found in a shop, while the district police officer said a fifth suspect had also been taken into custody.

In a statement posted on X, Sargodha police said the main suspect, the owner of the shop where the girl’s body was discovered, and two other suspects had been arrested. The statement added that police and the Crime Control Department were examining all aspects of the case.

However, Sargodha District Police Officer Sohaib Ashraf said a fifth suspect had also been detained. He did not provide further details about the allegations against that suspect or his role in the case. The DPO also said the prime suspect had been handed over to the Crime Control Department and that samples had been sent to laboratories for DNA testing.

Separately, Civil Judge Imran Farooq in Sargodha granted the Crime Control Department a six-day physical remand of the prime suspect.

FIR and allegations

The arrests were reported a day after City Police in Sargodha registered a first information report on the complaint of the girl’s father. According to the FIR, the case was registered under Sections 302, 376, 511 and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The FIR states that the complainant told police his daughter had gone to a kiryana store to buy some items and that she regularly visited the shop. He said he became concerned when she did not return and went to the store with others to look for her.

According to the FIR, the complainant said “When we asked the shop owner about my daughter, he did not answer”

He added that he and the others then went to the third floor of the shop, where they saw the main suspect. The FIR quotes him as saying “Upon seeing us, he threw away a knife he was holding and fled”

The complainant further stated that he then went to his daughter “who was breathing her last.”

In the FIR, the father accused the prime suspect of slitting the child’s neck with a knife after attempting to rape her. He also alleged that the crime had been carried out at the behest of the shop owner and two other suspects. The complainant further said he had argued with the shop owner two days before the incident and alleged that the man had threatened to teach him a lesson for life.