MANSEHRA: Police have arrested a man for trying to assault an eight-year-old girl in a forest in the Battal area here.

“We have taken the suspect into custody,” SSP Resham Jehangir told reporters here on Wednesday.

She said DPO Shafiullah Khan Gandapur had constituted a special police team to trace and arrest the suspect after the girl was found unconscious in a gorge in the Sharkolai area.

Ms Jehangir said the women, who had gone to fetch water from a local stream, found the girl and informed villagers. The police later showed up and took her to a nearby health centre where doctors confirmed an assault bid.

“The accused lured the girl into the nearby forest before trying to assault her but as his bid failed, he injured her and abandoned her thinking she was dead,” the SSP said.

She said the police arrested the suspect from a house in the Sharkolai area.

SHO of the Battal police station Shujaat Hussain, who led the police team, said the girl’s mother had reported her daughter’s disappearance.

“The suspect has confessed to his crime and provided its details,” he said.

The police booked the suspect under Sections 376, 511 and 53 of the Child Protection Act, and sections 365 and 337 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2025