Murder of Zainab Ansari

Murder of Zainab
Location Kasur, Punjab, Pakistan
Date 4 January 2018
Weapon strangulation evidenced by fracture of the hyoid bone
Non-fatal injuries
 sexual assault (rape) and possibly sodomy; visible marks of torture on the face; congestion in the muscles; the tongue badly bruised and injured as it was pressed between the teeth; mud, fecal matter and blood found on the body
Victim Zainab Amin Ansari
Assailant Imran Ali
Coroner DHQ MLO Dr Quratulain Attique
Verdict Found guilty[1]
Convictions Four counts of death penalty, one count of life imprisonment, one count of seven-year imprisonment, Rs. 3.2 million fine[1]

Zainab Ansari (Urdu: زینب انصاری‬‎) was a 6-year-old Pakistani girl who was on her way to Quran recital when she was abducted and later found raped and murdered which incited protests and outrage in Kasur, Punjab, Pakistan.[2][3][4]

Event

The incident happened, when Zainab's parents had gone to Saudi Arabia for performing Umrah and Zainab was living with her uncle. On 4 January 2018, while going to a Quran tuition class which was very close to her house, she went missing. Her uncle, Muhammad Adnan, lodged a complaint with the Kasur District Police Office. CCTV video footage which was discovered by Ansari's family members, with no help from the authorities involved, shows her accompanied by an unknown bearded man in white clothes and a jacket, holding her by the hand and walking on Peerowala Road in Kasur. Her body was later found in a garbage heap in Shahbaz Khan Road on 9 January 2018. After an autopsy, it was confirmed that she had been raped and strangled to death. The autopsy suggested that she endured captivity and torture before her murder.[5]

Protest

There were large protests in Kasur and other major cities of Pakistan, during the clash with the police, two people were killed after they broke into a police station.[6][7][8][9] Four policemen who allegedly opened fire at protesters "[had] been arrested and being interrogated."[10]

Reaction

Punjab chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif said:

Deeply pained about brutal murder of an 8-year-old girl in a child molestation case. Those societies that cannot protect its children are eternally condemned. Not going to rest till the perpetrators of this dastardly act are apprehended & given severest possible punishment under the law[11]

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai wrote on Twitter, "This has to stop. [Government] and the concerned authorities must take action."[12][13] Imran Khan, the leader of PTI and a former cricketer, tweeted, "The condemnable & horrific rape & murder of little Zainab exposes once again how vulnerable our children are in our society."[14]

Cleric Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, a political rival of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League party, "demanded the local government be replaced, saying it has 'no right to remain in power after the killing of Zainab Ansari'".[14]

Kiran Naz, a news anchor on Pakistan's Samaa TV, hosted a January 10 bulletin with her young daughter on her lap as an act of protest.[15] At the Sindh Assembly, artist celebrities Ayesha Omer, Nadia Hussain, Faysal Qureshi and others met on January 12 with Deputy Speaker Shehla Raza, demanding laws and justice to prevent such tragedies in the future.[16] Mahira Khan, Ali Zafar, Imran Abbas, Mawra Hocane, Saba Qamar as well as former cricket players Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar tweeted about the incident, condemning the brutal rape and murder, while also trending the hashtag #JusticeforZainab.[17]

Arrest

Shahbaz Sharif announced the arrest of a suspect, Imran Ali, in a press conference on 23 January 2018.[18] He confirmed that the DNA and polygraph test of the suspect that matched with the samples with least eight minor girls, including Zainab, raped and murdered in within the same neighbourhood and that the suspect is a serial killer. Imran Ali is a 24-year-old mechanic who lived in Zainab's neighbourhood. He had even taken part in protests against Zainab's murder.[19] Imran Ali has confessed to his crimes.[20] Police also found the jacket worn by the suspect seen on CCTV which was seen while he was taking Zainab with him.[21][22][23]

Sentencing

On 17 February 2018, an anti-terrorism court in Lahore Central Jail, found Imran Ali guilty of raping and murdering Zainab Ansari. The court handed him four counts of the death penalty, one life term, a seven-year jail term and Rs. 3.2 million in fines.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Bilal, Rana. "Imran Ali handed 4 counts of the death sentence, life term in Zainab rape and murder case". Dawn. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  2. ↑ "Zainab murder: Riots in Pakistan's Kasur after child rape and killing". BBC. Archived from the original on 10 January 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  3. ↑ "Chilling last moments of eight-year-old girl who was raped and murdered before being dumped on a pile of rubbish: CCTV shows girl being led away by mystery man in Pakistan". Daily Mail. 10 January 2018. Archived from the original on 12 January 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  4. ↑ Polianskaya, Alina (10 January 2018). "Zainab Ansari killing: Two people died in Pakistan protests over the alleged rape and murder of eight-year-old girl". The Independent. Archived from the original on 10 January 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  5. ↑ "6-year-old Zainab's autopsy suggests child endured rape, captivity before murder". Dawn. Archived from the original on 11 January 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  6. ↑ "Pakistan mob angered by rape, murder of girl attacks police". CTV. 10 January 2018. Archived from the original on 10 January 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  7. ↑ "Parents of raped and murdered girl, 7, seek justice". Al Jazeera. 10 January 2018. Archived from the original on 10 January 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  8. ↑ Erickson, Amanda (10 January 2018). "A 7-year-old Pakistani girl was raped, strangled and left in a dumpster". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 10 January 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  9. ↑ "Kasur: Two dead in protests, Tahir ul-Qadri leads Zainab's funeral prayer". Daily Times. 10 January 2018. Archived from the original on 10 January 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  10. ↑ @GovtOfPunjab (11 January 2018). "All the four accused policemen who opened fire on protestors in Kasur yesterday have been arrested and being interrogated. JIT, comprising officials from Police & intelligence agencies, are working on Zainab murder case & will locate the main accused soon IA. #JusticeForZainab" (Tweet). Retrieved 18 January 2018 – via Twitter.
  11. ↑ "Justice for Zainab: Riots erupt in Kasur after 7-year-old's rape, murder". Dawn. 10 January 2018. Archived from the original on 10 January 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  12. ↑ Yousafzai, Malala (10 January 2018). "Heartbroken to hear about Zainab - a 7 year old child abused and brutally killed in Kasur, Pakistan. This has to stop. Gov and the concerned authorities must take action. #JusticeForZainab". Twitter. Archived from the original on 11 January 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  13. ↑ "Father lashes out at cops over Pakistani girl's rape, murder". CBS News. 11 January 2018. Archived from the original on 11 January 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  14. 1 2 "Rape and murder of seven-year-old girl shocks Pakistan". Mail Online. Archived from the original on 12 January 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  15. ↑ "Pakistani anchor goes on air with daughter to protest minor's brutal rape and murder". Times of India. Archived from the original on 11 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  16. ↑ "Speedy trial needed for justice in Kasur-like tragedies: Ayesha Omar". Geo TV. Archived from the original on 12 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  17. ↑ "Justice for Zainab: Ali Zafar, Mahira Khan condemn the brutal rape and murder of the 8-year old girl". Times Now News. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  18. ↑ Riaz, Waseem (23 January 2018). "'Zainab's murderer has been arrested'". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 23 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  19. ↑ "Kasur rape case: Murderer of 8-year-old Zainab arrested". Muhammad Shehzad. The Express Tribune. 23 January 2018. Archived from the original on 23 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  20. ↑ "Zainab's murderer is a serial killer: Punjab CM". Samaa TV. 23 January 2018. Archived from the original on 23 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  21. ↑ "Police arrest main accused in Zainab killing case after DNA matches". Daily Pakistan. 23 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  22. ↑ "Pakistan official: Suspect arrested in killing of 7-year-old". Washington Post. 23 January 2018. Archived from the original on 23 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  23. ↑ "Zainab's murderer caught, is a 'serial killer', confirms CM Shehbaz". Geo TV. 23 January 2018. Archived from the original on 23 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
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