FAISALABAD: Markets remained close, students staged demonstrations and lawyers boycotted courts at Jaranwala on Monday in protest against rape and murder of a minor girl whose body was found in fields a day earlier.

Traders associations have also announced a shutter down strike in the town today (Tuesday) that was already enraged by an alleged child rape scam, besides abduction and murder of a female student of the Government College University, Faisalabad.

Police had been working on the cases without finding any clue to the culprits so far.

According to father of the victim, his seven-year-old daughter ‘M’ had left her house around 2pm on Sunday but did not return.

He said the girl could not be traced despite a desperate search and was later found strangled in the fields around 8pm with multiple torture marks.

Police registered a case under PPC sections related to abduction, assault and murder against the unidentified criminal(s) with no arrest so far.

In protest against the incident, the local lawyers observed a strike and demanded immediate arrest of the criminal(s) involved in the heinous crime.

A large number of people attended the funeral prayers of the victim.

Later, students of some public and private educational institutes, who were carrying wooden sticks, staged a protest demonstrations at the GTS and Kutchery chowks. Some of the agitators also hit a police bus carrying constables with sticks to vent their anger.

The protesting students also forced some shopkeepers to pull their shutters down.

Talking to reporters, the agitators said it seemed they were living in a jungle where they would have to protect themselves on their own, blaming police inefficiency and local politicians’ apathy for the situation.

According to police sources, three teams had been formed to arrest the minor girl’s rapist(s) and killer(s).

The GCUF students also staged a protest demonstration on third consecutive day for the arrest of the killers of the varsity student who was abducted by some car occupants.

Carrying banners and placards inscribed with slogans against the police, the students said the police high-ups had only been trying to please the rulers instead of tracing the criminals and protecting the people’s lives.

They vowed to continue the agitation till the criminals were arrested.

Published in Dawn, April 3rd, 2018