SC wraps up suo motu hearing of minor Asma’s killing

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court wrapped up on Wednesday the hearing on murder case of four-year-old Asma, who was raped and murdered in Mardan.

While hearing the suo motu notice on the case, Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar asked if the accused has been arrested. To which Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Deputy Advocate General Abdul Latif Yousufzai responded, giving details of the accused, Ghulam Nabi, who has been caught.

The court then directed authorities concerned to file a charge sheet against the accused within 10 days and wrapped up the case.

Nabi, who has been arrested by the KP police, is said to be a 15-year-old boy who works at a local restaurant. He is also a relative of the murdered minor.

Addressing a news conference following Nabi’s arrest, Mardan Regional Police Officer Dr Mian Saeed had said the case was resolved by tracing a drop of blood on a leaf in the sugarcane field where the minor was murdered.

The RPO said that fingerprint traces of the suspect were found on the neck of the deceased, and the weapon used for the crime has also been recovered.

He added that the suspect attempted sexual assault on the four-year-old in the sugarcane field but the minor resisted by shouting for help. In reaction, Nabi killed the minor by strangulating her.

Asma was reported missing from the Gujjar Garhi area in Mardan on January 13, and recovered dead the next day from the nearby sugarcane fields.

The CJP took suo motu notice of the incident after DNA test confirmed the child was raped before she was killed.