‘Rapist-murderer’ of five-year-old girl killed in police encounter

LALAMUSA: A grim chapter in the Khohaar tragedy concluded when the alleged rapist and murderer of a five-year-old girl was killed in a police encounter near Bole Bridge, Civil Lines Police Station limits, on Friday. 

The suspect, Muhammad Nadeem, a gardener employed at a college in Rasul, had previously escaped police custody. The heartbreaking incident sent shockwaves across the community after the child, the daughter of an expatriate ‘J,’ was found dead on January 15, 2025. She was subjected to sexual assault, and brutal torture before being strangled to death. 

Nadeem, who lived in the neighbourhood, was arrested following an investigation that revealed a DNA match linking him to the crime. An FIR was registered on January 16, 2025, at the Saddar Police Station in Sara-e-Alamgir. The police intensified the search and traced Nadeem to the vicinity of Bole Bridge. 

A confrontation ensued, during which Nadeem was shot dead. Authorities claimed he resisted arrest, leading to the encounter. In a show of solidarity and grief, the residents of Khohaar refused to allow Nadeem’s burial in the village. Later, his body was shifted to Mandi Bahauddin.