LAHORE : Director General (DG) Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) DrMohammad Ashraf Tahir on Monday submitted a test report of DNA samples thatwere collected from Zainab’s body, in the Lahore High Court (LHC).
Dr Tahir informed the court that an unidentified serial killer, who earlierhad been involved in killings of seven other minor girls, strangulatedZainab.
Chief Justice Mansoor Ali Shah of LHC was hearing Zainab murder case.Justice Shah had taken notice of the incident and granted 36 hours to thePunjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) to arrest the culprit(s), besidessubmitting a detailed report on the brutal killing of 7-year-old girl inKasur.
“It has been verified through DNA profiling that a single culprit is behindthe rape and murder cases in Kasur,” the DG forensic department told thecourt.
He said the first crime of similar nature was committed back in 2015.
To which, Justice Shah enquired the reasons behind authorities’ lukewarmresponse in taking action against the culprit.
On the occasion, he noted that Zainab would have been alive if authoritieshad sprung into action against the culprit.
Expressing displeasure over Punjab police chief’s disappearance, JusticeShah said it seemed the provincial government and police were not seriousto curb the crime rate in Punjab.
During the court proceedings, an additional inspector general (AIG)appeared before the court.
The AIG informed the judge that 67 DNA tests were conducted as part of theinvestigation so far. He said it apparently seemed a single serial killeris involved in the rape and murder cases in Kasur.
In a rare move, Justice Shah also established two special courts in Kasurto deal with the cases of child abuse to ensure speedy justice to victims.
The move came after the AIG said that as many as 108 cases ofchild-sexual-abuse were in Kasur alone.
The special courts have been established in the wake of the horrific rapeand murder of a seven-year-old girl in Kasur.
The court then adjourned hearing till Jan 17.
Punjab police has failed yet to achieve a major breakthrough in bringingthe prime suspect to justice. However, a Joint Investigation Team (JIT)constituted to probe the murder has released a sketch on Sunday night tomake arrest of the murderer in near future.
The probing team released the sketch of main suspect after recordingstatements of victims’ families. The sketch has reportedly been prepared inlight of CCTV footages garnered from different localities of Kasur city andtestimonies of area residents.
It has been speculated that a single person has been involved in over adozen sexual assault cases in the city.
This has also given rise to fears that a serial killer and child molester,still on the loose, responsible for several such incidents.
The city of Kasur has been in shock after the horrific rape and murder ofZainab who was found dead in garbage heap a few days after herdisappearance. The Punjab government ultimately formed a JIT to investigatethe matter which has released a new sketch of the suspect.
The suspect appears to aged between 25-30 years old, medium height with alight beard and mustache, round face and narrow eyes. The sketch isdifferent from an earlier version made by the local police. Efforts arereportedly underway to apprehend him.
However, the efficiency of Punjab Police is being questioned after theculprit involved in the horrific rape and murder of 7-year-old Zainab inKasur is still at large.
The minor girl was abducted on January 4 from Kasur’s Kot Road area. Fivedays after her disappearance, she was found raped, dead and buried in agarbage dump on Jan 09.
The gory Kasur incident shattered the entire nation, triggering widespreadpublic outrage with people from all walks of life demanding an exemplarypunishment for the culprit.
Violent protests erupted in the city following the incident, resulting inthe death of two people in police firing outside DC office.
The incident blew the lid on the horrifying reality of how children in abrutalized society are vulnerable to sexual abuse.
Orignally published by NNI