Pakistan: Violent protests break out after six-year-old girl gets raped and murdered

There were marks of cigarette burns as well on her body, reported Pak media.

AFP PHOTO / ASIF HASSAN

Karachi: A six-year-old girl was raped and strangled to death in Pakistan's southern Sindh province, triggering violent protests that led to the death of a person allegedly in police firing, media reports said on Tuesday. The girl, who had gone missing on Sunday, was found dead in the bushes in Manghopir on Monday night. She was on Tuesday identified as a resident of Baloch Goth, Orangi Town. The police had confirmed that the child's body bore marks or torture. The post-mortem at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital confirmed that she was raped and tortured. There were marks of cigarette burns as well, Samaa TV reported. Further investigations are underway as samples taken from the body have been sent for chemical examination, the report said. Relatives and area residents placed the body of the deceased girl on Orangi Road in protest but took the body back to their home after it turned violent with demonstrators pelting stones at police and nearby vehicles. Two people were injured as police resorted to firing and teargas shelling to disperse the protesters. A man who was injured allegedly by police firing later died after being taken to a medical centre,  Dawn News reported. Ten police personnel, including a deputy superintendent police and two station house officers, were also injured in the incident. Rangers personnel were deployed in the area after which the situation came under control, the report said. The rioting comes months after the rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl in Kasur, whose body was found from a dump in January. The girl in Kasur district was abducted outside her home. She had gone to a religious tuition centre near her house in Kasur city, some 50 km from Lahore, on January 5 from where a man said to be a 'serial killer' abducted her, police said. The horrific incident shocked the entire country and drew national and international condemnation. The accused in the case was later sentenced to death and was also found to be involved in other cases of rape and murder in the area.