Zainab Murder Case: Prime suspect to be presented in ATC today

LAHORE (92 News) – The prime suspect, who was apprehended in the rape and murder of minor seven-year-old Zainab will be presented in an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore today (Wednesday). ATC judge Sheikh Sajjad will resume hearing of the case. On Tuesday, Police apprehended the prime accused in the brutal rape and murder of minor seven-year-old Zainab in Kasur. The suspect was identified as Imran Ali, a resident of Kasur’s Road Kot area. According to the police, Imran Ali confessed to raping and killing seven-year-old Zainab during the interrogation. Imran Ali was originally detained by authorities during the initial stages of the investigation but was later let go for lack of evidence at that time. The initial DNA samples of the prime suspect were sent to forensic laboratory in Lahore along with 1,050 other samples. The lab reports confirmed that Imran’s DNA sample matched with the traces that were collected from Zainab’s body. Zainab Ameen, a seven-year-old girl from the city of Kasur in central Punjab, was found dead in a rubbish dump after several days of her disappearance. An autopsy revealed she had been brutally abused and strangled to death. Her rape and murder earlier this month sent a shock wave across the country. The incident had drawn a wide public outcry. Zainab's rape and murder had prompted widespread protests not just in Kasur but across the country, with mobs going violent against the police and lawmakers in some areas. Following that, the Punjab government had set up a special joint investigation team to find the murderer. Her death also kicked off a social media campaign where citizens expressed outrage for government apathy towards repeated cases of child abuse in the country. Activists on social media condemned the government for failing to arrest those involved in the crime. Kasur is a congested district of around 2.5 million people in eastern Pakistan, near the border with India. The city of Kasur is surrounded by brick kilns and tanneries and has hundreds of small factories making shoes and embroideries, all of which employ children _ making them vulnerable to abuse. In 2015, an extensive child pornography ring was uncovered in the city; it had been flourishing for nearly a decade and involved nearly 250 children, some of whom were forced at gunpoint to have sex. Zainab was snatched on January 04 as she walked to a tuition center. Her parents were away on pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, and the girl and her two sisters and brother were watched over by her aunts and uncles who all live in the same house in an impoverished neighborhood of narrow lanes on the outskirts of the city.