Protests held in Kasur over murder of 3 minor boys, suspected sexual assault; 2 policemen suspended – Pakistan

The Punjab police chief ordered the suspension of two police officers when protests broke out in Kasur on Wednesday, a day after the remains of three minor children, suspected of being killed by police after being sexually assaulted, were recovered. in Kasur's chunian tehsil.

Protesters blocked roads in Chunian and burned tires while singing slogans against the police. Protesters also surrounded the Chunian police station while protesting the lack of arrests and kidnapping incidents of children.

The demonstration was followed by the Punjab police inspector general, Arif Nawaz Khan, who ordered the suspension of the Chunian DSP, Naeem Warak and the SHO of the city of Chunian, Irfan Gill, for his inefficiency in handling the incidents.

Four children, aged 8 to 12, had disappeared since June and Faizan, aged 8, disappeared Monday night.

Before Faizan, Muhammad Imran of Rana Town, 12, disappeared on June 3, while Ali Husnain, 9, and Suleman Akram, of Ghausiabad, 8, disappeared on August 8 and August 17 respectively. The locals say that a fifth child is also missing.

One of the bodies was identified as Faizan's, while the remains are believed to be from Ali and Suleman. Police have not yet found any clues about Imran's whereabouts.

A large number of locals attended Faizan's funeral prayers offered today.

In a post-mortem report dated September 17, the medical officer of the THQ Chunian Hospital, Zuhaib Abid, said Faizan had died of "choking from hyoid bone fracture due to strangulation and choking in the neck."

Abid confirmed in the report that the boy had died after being sodomized and physically tortured.

"The injuries and acts mentioned above are of antemortem nature (which occur or are performed before death) and are sufficient to cause death in [the] normal course of nature, "the officer wrote, adding that a final opinion will be issued after receiving reports from the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA).

Meanwhile, the Punjab police chief said today that many people are being investigated regarding the incident and that three different investigation teams are working in Chunian.

IG Khan said the PFSA will carry out a DNA test of the remains of the three minors and will be compared with the DNA of the suspects.

He said he was receiving constant updates on the case and added that an example of the suspects would be made.

A wave of shock and terror seized Chunian when police recovered all three bodies on Tuesday. The locals suspected that a racket was behind the murder of minor children after the rape.

District Police Officer (DPO) Abdul Ghaffar Qaisarani had said that sexual assault would be confirmed after a medical report was issued, but that the possibility of murder after a rape could not be ruled out. He had denied the presence of any fuss.

Punjab Prime Minister Usman Buzdar also noticed the incident and requested a report from the police inspector general. He also demanded that the killers be tracked as soon as possible.

The development came after dozens of people organized a protest rally in Kasur on Monday against what they called the failure of the Chun police to recover missing children and curb the incidence of child abduction. They had dispersed after the local administration assured them of the resolution of the cases.

In recent years, Kasur has been shaken by multiple incidents of abuse, rape and murder of children. The deaths are an awkward reminder of the horrible rape and murder of six-year-old girl Zainab Ansari, a case that caused outrage and protests across the country after the boy's body was found in a pile of garbage in Kasur in January 2018.

Imran Ali, who was convicted of the rape and murder of Zainab, was executed nine months after the boy's death.

Read: Kasur scandal: "I thought about killing myself every day"

In 2015, the Hussain Khanwala village of Kasur attracted worldwide attention when a child pornography ring was stopped. Hundreds of video clips have emerged showing a gang forcing dozens of younger children to perform sexual acts and film them. The gang also used the videos to blackmail the children's families and extorted millions of cash and jewelry.

Zainab Bill & # 39; languishes & # 39; alert in committee: minister

Commenting on the death of the children, Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari said Wednesday that it was "shocking to see continuing stories emerging from victims of child abuse in Kasur."

In a series of tweets, he said the government's Zainab alert bill has been pending before the National Human Rights Standing Committee chaired by the PPP president, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, "for months." She said the subcommittee of the standing committee had made final amendments to the bill along with the human rights ministry, but that the bill now "languishes" in the committee and was not sent to NA.

Mazari said his ministry had written to the standing committee to send the bill to NA but that it had not been done so far, calling the situation "frustrating procedures of unnecessary delays in non-political human rights legislation."