Zainab’s parents demand arrest of suspect Imran’s facilitators

KASUR: Parents of seven-year-old Zainab, who was raped and murdered before being dumped in a garbage heap earlier this month, have demanded arrest of suspect Imran’s facilitators.

In an interview to Geo News on Wednesday, Amin Ansari, the victim’s father, alleged that Imran, who was arrested earlier this week for the rape and murder of the minor, did not act alone.

“We got to know he [Imran] kept our daughter with him for five days before [killing her]. He kept her at his residence, that means his family [and friends] are also involved [in the murder],” the grieving father said.

“We demand that his facilitators be arrested as well and [swift] action be taken against them too,” Ansari said.

Zainab’s father rubbished reports that the suspect is his relative and was known to the household.

“Some reports [in the media] saying he is our relative, he came [to our house]. These reports are baseless,” he said, pointing out that the angered crowds were demanding public hanging of the suspect.

Lauding the detailed investigation conducted into his daughter’s case, Ansari said all other such cases should also be investigated with similar dedication and attention.

“All such [culprits] should be caught and punished.”

Zainab’s mother, demanding justice for her daughter, said that the suspect Imran had confessed to the heinous crime.

Imran, a 24-year-old resident of Kasur, was tracked down and arrested by the police earlier this week after his DNA samples matched the remains collected from the site where Zainab's body was dumped.

After the police arrested Imran, the suspect reportedly confessed to assaulting eight minor girls at an under-construction site and two others in a garbage heap. He also admitted to murdering five minor girls and throwing away the bodies of three others in a garbage pile, sources said.

Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday confirmed that the arrested suspect, Imran, is the murderer of Zainab and referred to him as a “serial killer”.

"Zainab's murderer has been caught. His name is Mohammad Imran. He is a 24-year-old resident of Kasur...he is a serial killer," Shehbaz told a press conference.

"He [Imran] admitted to all his crimes in a polygraph test that was conducted after his DNA matched the samples," said the chief minister.

Shehbaz further said that the case will be prosecuted in an anti-terrorism court, and assured that all legal formalities will be completed.

He also requested the chief justice of the Lahore High Court to ensure that the hearing of the case is heard day and night, without any delay.

"Even if we have to amend the laws we should do so; the way Zainab was crushed like a flower, the law should crush the killer in the same manner."