Gruesome murder of two children: Four teams start probe as incidents trigger fear in Badaber

PESHAWAR: Four specialist teams have been constituted to probe the gruesome murders of two children in the limits of Badaber Police Station in the last one week, officials said on Friday.

"Along with a high-level committee, we have constituted four specialist teams, one for intelligence collection, another for profiling and interviews, the third for cellular investigation and interrogation and one for undertaking raids and arrests," said Capital City Police Officer Mohammad Ali Gandapur.

He added that the profiling of people and collection of blood samples has started. “Both conventional and non- conventional methods are being applied to work out the cases,” he said. He maintained that the two murder cases in Badaber were their top-most priority.

An official said that samples had also been sent for DNA profiling in the case. People in the town were in a state of shock after the killing of two children in Telaband and Balokhel areas of Badaber in rural Peshawar within one week.

The latest victim was a seven-year old girl, Aalia, who was killed by unidentified persons before they dumped her body in a graveyard in Badaber after setting her on fire. Earlier last Saturday, a four-year old boy Tahirullah was found dead in the fields in Telaband in the limits of Badaber Police Station. Though his abdomen was cut, no organ was removed.

"There is anger among the locals after the brutal killing of a young boy in Telaband and then murder of a seven-year old girl in Balokhel," Ghazanfar Ali Khan, an elder from the area and former National Assembly candidate told The News.

He said the police teams were working hard and the people have been assured the cases would be worked out soon. He assured that the locals would extend all- out support to the investigators in profiling, sample collection and other issues.

"People are in pain as two incidents of brutal murder of children have happened in the limits of one police station within five days. Both the children were tortured inhumanly," said Ghazanfar Ali Khan. In the first incident, Tahirullah went missing from Telaband on November 11. His body was found in the agricultural fields last Saturday.

The abdomen of the boy, son of a labourer, was cut with a knife but doctors denied rumours on social media that his organs were removed. Also, they said, the deceased was not sexually assaulted.

In the second incident, the seven-year old Aalya went missing on Wednesday. The family and locals searched every place but she could not be found. The next morning her body was found in a graveyard. The killers had set her body on fire after killing her, apparently not to leave behind any evidence.