Dir police arrest man for assaulting, killing minor girl

LOWER DIR: The police on Friday claimed to have arrested a man for assaulting and killing a six-year-old girl within 24 hours of the crime.

Speaking at a news conference at the Timergara Police Lines, district police officer Ziauddin said Ali Khan, 40, belonged to Bannu district, and had been living in Khazana area ofLower Dir for last few years. SP investigations Zahoor Khan was also present.

He said body of the minor was found in the fields near the Panjkora River in the jurisdiction of Munda police station the other day, and shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital for postmortem.

The DPO said the case was a challenge for the police as the IGP and regional police officer had had also taken notice of it.

DPO says incident sparked outrage on social media

He said the man had confessed to strangling the girl after raping her and throwing the body near the Panjkora River at night. He said the accused worked as a labourer at a local bakery.

The DPO said scores of suspects were taken into custody after the incident sparked criticism on social media as it was the first such case in Dir.

Mr Ziauddin said the girl went missing from her home on Wednesday.

Separately, a woman and two children, residents of Talash, were injured when a car plunged into the Panjkora River near the Zulam Bridge on Friday.

Rescue officials said they shifted the injured to the District Headquarters Hospital, Timergara.

Source: Dawn