Man accused of raping child arrested

A man accused of raping a five-year-old child was arrested by Peerabad police in a raid on Tuesday.

According to Peerabad police station SHO Mohammad Aslam, the crime took place on Friday in Rabbani Mohallah. He said the family did not report it immediately, but their neighbours reached out to police on Sunday after which officials approached the victim’s family and registered an FIR.

The SHO added that Mohammad Rafiq, the little girl’s father, told police that she was playing outside their house on Friday afternoon when their neighbour Abdul Wadood lured her by offering sweets and then took her to his house where he raped her.

Rafiq further said that the child told her mother what had happened to her, but since the family was afraid of what their neighbours would say, they decided to stay silent and did not report the crime to the police. The Peerabad SHO said police registered an FIR after neighbours contacted them and officials reached out to Rafiq for confirmation.

Following this, the police conducted a raid at the suspect’s house, but did not find him there. Officials then expanded their intelligence network and based on a tip-off they conducted a raid on Wadood’s hideout in Ittehad Town on Tuesday and took him into custody.

The SHO said Wadood is a notorious drug peddler who is wanted in a number of cases. He added the victim’s medical examination has been conducted and DNA samples have been collected for analysis.

Cop dies in hit-and-run

A police constable perished in a road accident in Shah Faisal Colony in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.

Police Constable (PC) Syed Sajjad Hussain Zaidi, 25, was heading home on a motorcycle after performing his duty when he a speeding Mazda truck dashed into his two-wheelers on Dhobi Ghaat Road, knocking him off.

Sajjad, who was posted at the Police Headquarters East and lived in Block 5 of Shah Faisal Colony, suffered critical injuries. He was rushed to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, where he died. He had landed the job in the Sindh police a year ago.

The truck driver made a dash for it, leaving behind his vehicle, which was impounded by police. A case has been lodged and an investigation is under way.