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Tuesday February 18, 2025

Alleged rapist, murderer of child arrested in Badaber

By Javed Aziz Khan
December 12, 2020

PESHAWAR: The police on Friday arrested the main accused who allegedly sexually assaulted a seven-year old girl in Badaber and later killed and set her body on fire to destroy the evidence last month.

Soon after hearing the news about the arrest of the accused Asif Raza alias Malangay, a large number of angry villagers gathered in Badaber and torched his small mud-house. Heavy contingents of police, however, reached the spot and convinced the mob to disperse. The police also shifted the family of the accused to a safer place.

"The house was torched and walls demolished to give a strong message to all those criminals involved in such inhuman crime of rape and murder of children," said a villager. Police officials said the accused, a neighbour of the deceased, was arrested during an action in support of the local elders in the neighbouring Khyber district. He had escaped to Khyber after committing the crime.

There was anger among the villagers of Badaber and nearby villages after the girl child, Aalya alias Layya, was killed and her body was thrown into a graveyard after setting it on fire. "The accused confessed that he sexually assaulted the child when she came to his house where he was alone. He later killed the girl and burnt the body to destroy any evidence," Capital City Police Officer (CCPO), Peshawar, Mohammad Ali Gandapur told a press conference at the Malik Saad Shaheed Police Lines on Friday. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Operations, Mansoor Aman and SP Saddar Waqar Ahmad were also present on the occasion.

Last month, four-year-old boy Tahirullah was found dead in the fields in the limits of the Badaber Police Station. Though his abdomen was cut, no organ was removed as was being reported earlier in the media.

Five days later Aalya was killed and her body was set on fire in Balokhel area of Badaber. The two incidents had created an atmosphere of fear in Badaber and rest of rural Peshawar.

"Four special investigation teams were constituted to work out the case under the command of SSP Operations and SSP Investigation. The police profiled more than 1,000 houses and collected samples from around 500 people during the investigation process to solve the blind murder case," said Mohammad Ali Gandapur.

Officials said a number of suspects were arrested and interrogated since the killer had left no evidence behind. The accused was a suspect as he went missing from the day the incident happened to avoid profiling.

Four teams, including one for intelligence collection, another for profiling and interviews, the third for cellular investigation and interrogation and one for raids and arrests worked for three weeks to arrest the accused.

SP Saddar Waqar Ahmad said they are working on the case of Tahirullah who was killed in Telaband five days before the murder of Aalya. He said those involved in the crime would be arrested soon as teams are working hard to work out the case.

Inspector General of Police, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sanaullah Abbasi awarded commendation certificates and cash rewards to the officers and junior officials who helped work out the case of Aalya. He praised the Peshawar police for arresting the prime accused even though he had destroyed all the evidence.

A number of children across the country were sexually assaulted and killed in recent years. Despite arrest and punishment to many of the accused, such crimes have continued. In most of the cases the accused proved to be neighbours, relatives or people known to the victims and those trusted by the parents and the children.

Many have asked for creating awareness among the public to protect and educate children how to stay safe as well as stop, expose and discourage the predators in the society.