Karachi minor boy 'raped' before being murdered: police surgeon

KARACHI: A post-mortem report on a seven-year-old boy found dead inside a bag in the Landhi area revealed evidence of rape, Police Surgeon Sumaiya Tariq said on Tuesday.

The victim, identified as Saad Ali, was presumed missing for four days after he left home on September 18 to buy sweets from a nearby shop, and his body was discovered stuffed in a bag left at a garbage dump near Lal Mazar in Landhi.

The police surgeon stated that the post-mortem report revealed a blow to the head as the cause of the boy’s death.

Samples from various body organs have been sent for further chemical examination to ascertain the facts, she added.

Meanwhile, the funeral prayers for the victim were offered in Landhi 36B, where the family resides.

His father, Salman, told the media that the family searched for the boy for days after receiving no assistance from the police despite filing a report.

He said that the family was left with no choice but to begin a search for the boy by themselves after police did not even bother looking at footage from CCTV cameras near the garbage dump where the boy was discovered.

He demanded departmental action against police officials, who, he said, failed to respond to the family’s calls for help in finding the boy.

Salman also called for the immediate arrest of those involved in the abduction and killing of his son.

Police said that they were in contact with the victim’s family and will file a first information report (FIR) following the final rites of the boy.

A senior police official said that two individuals have been arrested over their alleged involvement in the rape and killing of the boy.

Speaking at a press conference, deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Landhi stated that the suspects — identified as Hasan and Suhail — have confessed to the crime.

The suspects admitted luring the minor boy — who was familiar with them — with sweets and later raped and murdered him, the official added.

The latest case of child abuse comes just days after a man, accused of sexually assaulting numerous children in the Qayyumabad area, confessed to his crimes.

He made his confessional statement before a magistrate in Karachi (South) under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) on September 20.

Last year, as many as 3,364 child abuse cases were reported in four provinces and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), and Gilgit Baltistan (GB).

The countrywide number indicated abuse of nine children per day during the last year, reported Sahil’s annual ‘Cruel Number 2024.’