Interpol arrested several members of a child abuse gang. PHOTO: PEXELS
A six-year-old boy who went missing two days ago was found dead in the Old City area of Karachi, police confirmed on Wednesday.
The victim had disappeared from outside his home on Monday. After frantic but unsuccessful efforts by relatives and residents to locate him, a case of kidnapping was registered at Napier police station. Police said the boy’s body was recovered stuffed in a sack near Old Haji camp in Lea Market area on Tuesday night.
According to authorities, the victim’s family became suspicious of a neighbor and detained him before turning him over to police. South Deputy Inspector General of Police Asad Raza confirmed the arrest, adding that the suspect had confessed to the crime. “Further investigations are underway,” he said.
Family members alleged that the boy was murdered inside the suspect’s residence. They claimed the body was mutilated, stuffed into a sack and thrown from a three-story building.
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The family further accused the suspect of obstructing their search efforts. “He refused to let us search his house when we were looking for the boy,” a relative said, adding that the suspect had also pretended to help in the search to deflect suspicion.
The victim’s mother, overcome with grief, demanded strict punishment for the accused. “We want justice. The murderer must be punished in the same way he treated my son,” he said.
The victim was the only brother among five sisters. His father, a rickshaw driver, said the family had no known enmity with anyone. “My son was born after many prayers. He was our only child and these cruel people have destroyed my world,” she said.
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Investigators said the suspect told police he held a personal grudge against the boy’s father. They also revealed that the suspect confessed to having sexually assaulted the boy before killing him. Police said the case remained under investigation.
