Kasur erupted in riots on Wednesday as its residents agitated against perceived police inaction following a social media storm over the alleged rape and murder of an 8-year-old resident of the city.
Two people were killed as enraged protesters stormed the deputy commissioner's office with sticks and stones, while two others were injured in the clashes.
What we know so far:
- Missing person FIR registered on Jan 5, a day after the girl went missing
- CCTV footage of girl with a stranger circulated on social media, but no leads were forthcoming
- Police later found girl's body in trash heap on Tuesday
- Police confirm girl was strangled
- Citizens stage protest, shutter-down strike in Kasur
- Social media outrage grows over police inaction
- The LHC CJ, Punjab CM, Senate take notice of case today
- Riots broke out today, with protesters storming Kasur DC office to demand action, 2 killed
The brutal murder of the girl has incited anger among residents as it is the 12th such case to occur within a two kilometre radius in the city in the last year.
Kasur had also made local and international headlines in 2015 when a gang of paedophiles running a child sex ring was busted in the city.
The gang had allegedly abducted and sexually assaulted at least 280 children in the area, had blackmailed the families of the victims since 2009, and even sold video clips and images of the assault online.
Girl goes missing
Zainab, 8, was last known to have attended a tuition centre near her house in the Road Kot area last Thursday on Jan 4, after which she was allegedly abducted. Zainab's parents had gone to perform Umrah, according to the family.
Her panicked family received footage showing her with a stranger near Peerowala Road, a video which has since gone viral on social media.
On Tuesday, a police constable deputed to trace the girl recovered her body from a heap of trash near Shahbaz Khan Road.
Police said the girl seemed to have been killed four or five days ago, and sent her body to the District Headquarters Hospital for an autopsy where a number of people had gathered.
Police had reluctantly handed her body over to the family due to apprehension over a protest.
A first information report was registered against the disappearance of the girl on Jan 5, with the victim's paternal uncle as the complainant in the case. Murder charges were added to the FIR on Jan 9, after the victim's body was recovered.
'I want justice for Zainab'
Zainab's parents returned from Umrah today. As reporters surrounded them outside Islamabad's Benazir Bhutto International Airport, her mother said: "I have nothing to say, I just want justice for my daughter."
Zainab's father claimed that police "did not cooperate" with them. "It is our friends that have stood by us. The culprits have even been identified but the police has not made any progress," he claimed.
"We will not bury her until we get justice," he asserted. "We are now afraid of letting our children leave the home. How was our child kidnapped from a busy market?" he asked.
Police investigate as protests erupt
Police told Dawn that DNA samples from the victim's body have been dispatched for forensic testing. Police have dubbed the murder a serial killing, but are not ruling out rape. Further information will be available once an autopsy report is issued.
Regional Police Officer (RPO) Kasur Zulfikar Muhammad confirmed that the girl was strangled to death. He told the media that Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has directed the forensic lab to expedite the process for Zainab's autopsy.
"Naturally, there is also a certain amount of time that the processing will take; there is a certain amount of time that the lab takes," he said. It generally takes 24-48 hours for an autopsy to take place and a report to be issued.
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