Seven-year-old girl found murdered in room above Sargodha shop

SARGODHA: A seven-year-old girl was found murdered in a room above a grocery shop in Sargodha after she had gone there to buy sugar from her home in Block 8, police and her family said.

Family members said Minahil’s mother was making tea and sent the child to the nearby store to bring sugar. When she did not return after an unusual delay, the family began looking for her. Neighbours, relatives and other local residents joined the search, but they were unable to find her.

Police then reviewed CCTV footage from cameras installed in the area. The footage showed the girl entering the grocery shop but not coming out. Acting on that lead, law enforcement personnel searched the shop and the rooms above it, where they found the child’s blood-stained body.

Police officials said preliminary findings indicated that a shop employee had allegedly tried to assault the girl. Investigators said she was killed after resisting and raising an alarm. Police also said evidence was collected from the scene and that CCTV footage helped them identify and trace those allegedly involved.

Case registered, four suspects arrested

City Police Station registered a case on the complaint of the victim’s father, naming four people, including the main suspect, Arslan. The first information report said Arslan had earlier been involved in a dispute with Minahil’s father and had threatened to make him remember the consequences for the rest of his life. The FIR said the rape and murder took place after those threats.

Sargodha police said they had arrested Arslan along with three alleged accomplices. The case was registered at City Police Station under murder charges and other relevant legal provisions. The investigation was later handed over to the Crime Investigation Department, referred to as CCD.

The CCD produced all four arrested suspects before Senior Civil Judge Chaudhry Imran Ali, and the court sent them to police custody for six days for physical remand. Police officials said the investigation was continuing on all aspects of the case.

District Police Officer Sargodha Muhammad Suhaib Ashraf said those involved in such crimes would not receive leniency and would be brought to justice through exemplary punishment.