Three teenage girls were brutally strangled to death near their residence in Muzaffargarh on Tuesday, police said, and law enforcement agencies are hunting the culprit.
It is unclear whether more than one killer was involved at this stage.
Speaking to JEE News, District Police Officer (DPO) Muzaffargarh Syed Hasnain Haider said that the police were informed about the disappearance of three sisters from Thermal Colony area on Monday. After that a search operation was started.
“Immediately after receiving information from the girls’ family, the police launched a search and recovered three bodies from an abandoned house near the victim’s house,” he explained.
The deceased have been identified as seven-year-old Abiya, eight-year-old Zahra and eleven-year-old Arisha.
He said that the police was busy collecting evidence and hoped that the accused would be arrested soon.
According to the complaint lodged with the police before the bodies were recovered, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, the victim’s brother said that his two sisters, Zahra and Abia, had gone to play in a nearby playground. Around 5pm on Monday and didn’t come back.
He further said that later my other sister Arisha went to look for the two missing sisters and she also did not return.
In her petition, she requested the police to conduct a thorough search for her sisters, as her own efforts to locate them had been futile.
FIR
Later, a first information report (FIR) of the murder was lodged at the city police station under Section 302 (murder with intent) of the Pakistan Penal Code by Sub-Inspector (SI) Sajjad Ahmed.
A case has been registered against unknown persons.
The FIR, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, said the SI was patrolling an area along with other policemen around 10:15 pm on Monday when the girls’ father Muhammad Basit They were informed by Rescue 15 that their daughters have been missing for a long time.
The father was quoted in the FIR as saying, “He had gone to play in a nearby park but did not return.”
After that, the police started searching the area, the FIR said. In the morning, the girls’ brother Shahzeb informed them that he had gone to get a pedestal fan from the quarters adjoining his house.
The door to the quarters was locked and not finding the key, he said, he broke the lock with a hammer.
“On entering the room, I found one of the girls lying there dead,” the FIR quoted him as saying.
The police then reached the spot and found Zahra with her throat slit in a pool of blood, the FIR added, adding that Fatima’s body was also found in a similar condition.
The FIR further stated that Arisha also had her throat cut in the kitchen and had several injuries on her body.
The bodies have been sent to Muzaffargarh District Headquarters Hospital for post-mortem, it said.
CM take notice.
Caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, taking notice of the incident, has directed the Regional Police Officer (RPO) of Dera Ghazi Khan to provide a report on the matter.
He urged the police to conduct a thorough investigation into the gruesome murder and ensure the early arrest of the accused.
The Chief Minister emphasized that immediate justice should be provided to the bereaved families without any delay.
Furthermore, according to the statement, Naqvi expressed his heartfelt sympathy and condolences to the bereaved families.
