Pakistani child murder: protests grow stronger

January 12, 2018 12:00 am | Updated 03:39 am IST - Kasur

Demonstrators say police have failed to act against killings

United front:Pakistanis call for action against child abuse at a protest in Lahore on Thursday.AFPAFP

United front:Pakistanis call for action against child abuse at a protest in Lahore on Thursday.AFPAFP

Hundreds of protesters enraged over the murder of a young girl threw stones at government buildings in a Pakistani city near the Indian border for a second day on Thursday, amid growing outrage over the killing.

The demonstrators hurled projectiles at a hospital, attacked the home of at least one local politician, and complained of police inaction in the city of Kasur in Punjab province, a day after two protesters were killed when the rallies turned violent.

The outrage has spilled over in Kasur after the body of the child was found in a garbage heap on Tuesday, where she is believed to have been dumped after being raped and murdered.

The child is the eighth minor to have been raped and murdered in Kasur in the past 12 months, the police said.

Officials had earlier put her age at eight, but her family said she was just six years old.

“Up to 1,000 protesters are in the streets,” Kasur police spokesman Muhammad Sajid said. “They have thrown stones on the buildings of the government hospital, police and deputy commissioner’s office... Security is deployed and trying to control the situation.”

The demonstrators had accused the police of failing to act over the child murders. Mr. Sajid said that up to 20 suspects had been apprehended “but the investigators have been unable to find any clue so far”. “Police are not cooperating with us,” Ghulam Rasool, a family member, said.

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