Death sentence for Pakistani who killed eight children
Police and investigators obtained DNA samples from hundreds of suspects and the killer’s sample matched
A Pakistani court has sentenced a man to death for the murders of eight children including a girl, 7, whose rape and killing drew nationwide condemnation.
The court announced its decision yesterday. Mohammad Imran, 24, pleaded guilty during the five-day trial, public prosecutor Ehtesham Qadir said outside a high-security prison in the eastern city of Lahore, where the trial was held.
Imran was arrested last month, two weeks after he raped and killed Zainab Ansari and threw her body on a rubbish dump in the city of Kasur.
Angered by the murder, residents attacked a police station, sparking clashes in which two people were killed.
Zainab disappeared in the first week of January while walking to a nearby home for Quranic studies. Her parents were on a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia at the time and she was left with relatives.
They quickly returned home, but by that time their daughter’s body had been found and preparations for her funeral and burial were under way amid tight security.
Since Zainab’s killer left no clue, police and investigators obtained DNA samples from hundreds of suspects and Imran’s sample matched, leading to his arrest.
Imran confessed to the crime and said he lured the girl by telling her that her parents had come back and that she should go with him to meet them.
Mr Qadir said Imran had the right to appeal, but he might not challenge the verdict because he confessed to his crimes during the trial.
“Imran even today told the court that he killed the eight girls,” he said.
Mr Qadir did not say how Imran’s execution would be carried out, but many Pakistanis have demanded that he be publicly hanged.
The horror of Zainab’s killing was brought home for Pakistanis by a photo of her that went viral on social media, showing the smiling girl in her favourite bright pink coat, with a pink barrette holding back her hair.
TV channels aired the photo alongside pictures of her body found January 9.
Shortly after Imran’s conviction, Zainab’s parents expressed their satisfaction, saying they received justice. But Zainab’s father, Mohammed Ansari, said Imran should be hanged in a public place so that others would learn from his fate.
Her mother, Nusrat Ansari, said Imran “should be stoned to death”.
Mr Ansari was present when the court announced the decision. He thanked the judiciary, government and investigators for giving him swift justice.
“My daughter has gone. She will not come back but I want to save daughters of other people,” he said.