A four-year-old girl, abducted from Jalalwali village of Pasrur tehsil on Sept 15, was found murdered after being sexually assaulted in nearby fields on Thursday.
Locals have accused police of failing to act in time to save her.
Afifa Kainat, daughter of Quran teacher Qari Abdul Hafeez, reportedly left her house to buy sweets after Maghrib prayers but never came back, the police have said.
Before filing a complaint at the Qila Kalerwala police station, her relatives and neighbors conducted a search of the neighborhood and held announcements in mosques.
Section 363 of the Pakistan Penal Code was used to file a kidnapping report against unidentified suspects.A Sialkot police spokesperson said District Police Officer (DPO) Faisal Shahzad had formed special teams, led by the Pasrur DSP, to recover the child.
However, three days later, police were informed about a girl’s body lying in the fields. A team reached the site and confirmed that the victim was Afifa.
Police said the body was swollen and fecomposed as it had been left in water. Forensic experts collected evidence from the spot, while an autopsy at Pasrur THQ Hospital confirmed that the child was sexually assaulted before being killed.
DPO Shahzad stated that investigators were using human intelligence and modern technology to trace and arrest the culprit.
Meanwhile, the victim’s family and other residents of Narowal staged a protest against the police, alleging negligence and delay.
They claimed that timely efforts could have saved Afifa’s life and urged the chief minister to take strict action against the officials concerned.