Protests mount over rape, murder of Faisalabad university student

FAISALABAD: Outraged students and other residents took to the streets on Friday protesting inaction over the alleged rape and murder of a young woman in Faisalabad.

Abida, a student of MA English at Government College University Faisalabad, went missing on Sunday, March 25. Her body was recovered from Dijkot three days later on Wednesday, with initial post-mortem report suggesting she was raped before being killed.

With the culprits still at large, enraged colleagues of the deceased came out on the streets to demand justice for her. Raising slogans in protest, the colleagues demanded that those responsible for the heinous incident be caught immediately and given swift and exemplary punishment.

In a wave of protest reminiscent of the outrage that followed the rape and murder of minor Zainab earlier this year, social media users are using the hashtag #JusticeForAbida on Twitter to demand swift action against the culprit(s).

The National Commission for Human Rights has taken notice of the brutal murder and summoned a report from DPO Faisalabad.

Police authorities said they have nabbed a few people with the help of the deceased’s mobile phone data and are continuing efforts to arrest those responsible; however, no real progress has been made in the case yet.

The deceased's DNA samples have been sent to Lahore Forensic Laboratory.

For inaction over her alleged kidnapping, SHO Gulberg Police Station has been suspended.

Missing university student found raped, murdered in Faisalabad

Initial post-mortem report of the incident suggested she had been raped and tortured before her death

According to the student’s family, she had not returned home from her university earlier this week, after which the family registered an FIR with the police. There was no trace found of her, until when her body was found two days ago.

The grieving family said the deceased was a gold-medalist and had recently won a laptop under the Prime Minister’s Laptop Scheme.