Third hearing in Zainab murder case: Remand of accused extended

LAHORE: Anti-Terrorism Court Judge Sajjad Ahmad on Wednesday extended the remand of Imran Ali for two days, an alleged pedophile booked by the police over the charges of raping and killing eight minor girls, including seven-year-old Zainab from Kasur. An investigation officer informed the court that investigation was being carried out from the accused and evidence has been collected.

He told the court that Imran took Zainab to an under-construction house where he raped and killed her. He said after that, he threw her body at a dumping site near her house. The IO stated that the investigation has almost been completed from the accused but requested the court to extend the remand of Imran for two more days for finalising investigation and submission of challan. The court accepted the plea of the IO and extended the remand.

Earlier, the same court had remanded Imran Ali in police custody for three days over charges of killing and raping seven minor girls in Kasur. The police pleaded that Imran’s DNA samples matched with swab collected from the bodies of seven other minor girls.

Previously, on January 24, the same court handed over the suspect to police on 14-day remand, with directive to the investigators to produce him with an investigation report. The horrific killing after the rape of Zainab made headlines across the globe and brought national and international condemnation.