Two men arrested for raping, murdering Hyderabad girl whose brother was found stabbed

By
Ali Naeem
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Hamid Mian Shaikh
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Geo.tv/Illustration/Files

HYDERABAD: Two men have been arrested for raping and murdering an eight-year-old girl whose minor brother was found stabbed in Kohsar area — and later succumbed to his wounds — after the two siblings went missing a few days ago.

Addressing a press conference here on Friday after meeting and condoling with the parents of the two deceased minors, Dr Ghulam Sarwar Jamali — the additional inspector-general (AIG) of police for Hyderabad — asked for another day to resolve the horrifying case of the children's rape and murder.

It is noteworthy that the deceased siblings' family has alleged the police did not take timely action.

AIG Dr Jamali claimed that the police had started an investigation before 10-year-old Abdul Qadir, who was found critically injured on July 8 after being brutally stabbed and ditched in the Kohsar area, passed away on Tuesday.

The boy, however, had recorded a statement from his deathbed, wherein he said he and his sister had gone with a man named Usman. 

Police were investigating with the help of the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage, in which both children could be seen walking away with one of the two suspects in custody, identified as Usman, the official added.

A clause of terrorism was added to the first information report (FIR) registered over the case, the AIG said, adding that they would try to have the case progress on a daily basis in the court once their investigation and questioning were completed.

The police official, however, refuted the claims being made about a conflict over the jurisdiction of police stations as "baseless".

On the other hand, an investigative officer in the case revealed that the primary suspect, Usman, confessed to raping and killing the girl. His accomplice, identified as Sajid, too, admitted to his involvement in the chilling incident, the officer added.

In light of Usman's statement recorded at the police station, police said they were questioning Sajid as well.

While both suspects had, as of reporting time, confessed to their crimes and the two children were seen being led away by Usman in the CCTV video, the footage only showed Usman stepping out of an under-construction house after the murder of eight-year-old Rukhsana.

The body of Rukhsana, on the other hand, was recovered from the under-construction house in Bismillah City in Hyderabad's Latifabad locality on July 10. Upon receiving information, police had reached the site and shifted it to the Civil Hospital.

Dr Syed Kaleem Imam, the inspector-general (IG) of police for Sindh had consequently taken notice of Rukhsana's kidnapping, rape, and murder after her body was recovered.

A post-mortem was carried out on the body and doctors confirmed that the rape did take place. However, the report was not released.

Abdul Qadir, 10, and his sister, Rukhsana, had gone to buy grocery items from a nearby market on July 8 but never came returned. The same night, however, Qadir was found brutally stabbed and injured and shifted to a hospital, where, a day later, he succumbed to his wounds.