An angry mob has surrounded the house of a murder suspect today amid claims he has confessed to raping and killing a six-year-old girl in a case that has shocked Pakistan.
The brutal killing of Zainab Ansari, whose body was left in a rubbish dump in Kasur, east Pakistan, after she was snatched while on her way to a class, has unleashed a wave of revulsion around the country.
A man, named only as Imran, has been arrested after his DNA matched samples found on her body, according to police sources. He has since confessed to the killing, officials say.
The brutal killing of Zainab Ansari, whose body was left in a rubbish dump in Kasur, east Pakistan, after she was snatched while on her way to a class, has unleashed a wave of revulsion around the country. An angry mob has surrounded the house of a man suspected of killing her amid reports he has confessed
A man, named only as Imran, has been arrested after his DNA matched samples found on her body, according to police sources. He has since confessed to the killing, officials say. Zainab’s father is shown holding up a picture of the youngster
This morning, local reports said furious residents had surrounded his house. Police are on the scene and have urged people to remain calm.
The suspect arrested today is said to be a resident of the same area where Zainab’s house is located, Dawn News reported.
Zainab was snatched in early January as she walked to a Koran class. CCTV footage showed her being led away by a suspect five days before she was found raped and strangled on a rubbish pile about a mile from her home in Kasur, east Pakistan.
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.
A police district official told Al Jazeera: ‘The suspect’s name is Imran and he lives in the same [area] where Zainab lived.
‘He was arrested before, but was released as we did not have evidence. After that he shaved his beard off so that no one could recognise him.’
The official said that the suspect has confessed.
The horror of Zainab’s killing was brought home for Pakistanis by a photo of her that was widely shared on social media, showing the smiling girl in her favorite bright pink coat, with a pink barrette holding back her hair.
Thousands attended a funeral for the young Zainab Ansari in Kasur, Pakistan. The brutal rape and murder sent shock waves around Pakistan
Nusrat Ansari holds a photo of her daughter, Zainab, who was raped and killed, as her husband, Mohammed Amin in Kasur, sits beside her in Kasur, Pakistan
TV channels aired the photo alongside pictures of her lifeless body abandoned on a heap of garbage in her home city of Kasur.
There were 4,139 cases of child sexual abuse reported in Pakistan in 2016, according to Sahil, an organization documenting child abuse in the country.
It collects its figures by tracking reports in Pakistani media. But most cases go unreported, said Sahil’s executive director, Munizae Bano.
Across Pakistan, thousands protested, condemning police inaction and blaming the government for failing to protect children.
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.