LARKANA: Larkana DIG Dr Saen Rakhio Mirani and SSP Kamran Nawaz on Thursday appeared before the Sindh High Court Larkana circuit bench and assured it that they would personally supervise the rape and murder case of a five-year-old girl, whose body was found dumped in a house in Yar Mohammed Kalhoro Colony on Saturday.

Taking suo motu notice of the incident a few days back, the bench had ordered the Larkana SSP and DSP as well as the SHO of the Waleed police station and the investigation officer of the case to appear before it on Thursday. However, only the SHO and the supervising investigation officer (SIO), along with the prosecuting inspector, attended the proceedings and filed their statements.

The bench, comprising Justices Ahmed Ali Shaikh and Abdul Maalik Gaddi, asked SHO Mazhar Mahdi to contact the DIG and the SSP and tell them to personally appear in court. Later, the DIG and SSP attended the proceedings and assured the court that they would personally supervise the investigation; the investigation would be conducted in a fair and impartial manner; and no lacuna would be left in the probe. They also held out the assurance that all possible efforts would be made to ascertain facts, carry out legal formalities and seek opinions and reports from the experts concerned to put the culprits on trial.

The bench expressed the hope that “the DIG and SSP Larkana being responsible officers shall do the needful strictly in accordance with law and supervise the investigation as stated by them”. The hearing was adjourned till Jan 15.

Earlier, SHO Mazhar Mahdi and SIO Sultan Ahmed in their statements informed the bench that Section 6/7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act was incorporated in the FIR, originally registered under Sections 302, 34, 201 and 376 sub-section 2 of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of the victim’s mother.

The bench asked the SHO that why the ATA section was initially not included in the FIR of this highly sensitive matter.

Assistant Additional Advocate-General Munwar Ali Abbasi and Prosecuting Inspector Bashir Ahmed also appeared in the case.

According to preliminary investigation, the five-year-old girl was abducted and sexually assaulted before she was murdered and dumped in the house on Dec 27, 2014.

Five nominated suspects, belonging to the Jatoi community, have been booked and arrested by the Waleed police for interrogation. They were first produced in the court of the third judicial magistrate and civil judge, Larkana, Dev Sagar, on Dec 29 and then the Larkana Anti-Terrorism Court on Dec 30. The ATA remanded them in police custody for three days.

In the meantime, Chandka Medical College Hospital medico-legal officer Dr Shabnam Memon issued the autopsy report of the victim confirming criminal assault and murder of the girl. The report suggested the cause of the death as asphyxia and throttling.

Published in Dawn, January 2nd, 2015