Suspect in child murder case killed in police ‘encounter’ in Punjab’s Hafizabad

MANDI BAHAUDDIN: A suspect wanted in the kidnapping and murder of a six-year-old boy was killed on Wednesday after allegedly coming under fire from his own accomplice during an “encounter” with police in Chak Sabu, Pindi Bhattian tehsil of Hafizabad district, officials said. Hafizabad police spokesperson Head Constable Waqar Yousaf told Dawn that the body of the missing child was recovered from nearby fields during a search operation. It was taken into custody and shifted to a hospital for post-mortem examination, while legal proceedings were initiated. Pindi Bhattian Saddar police registered a first information report (FIR), dated April 28, a copy of which was seen by Dawn, on the complaint of the victim’s father. It invoked Sections 363 (punishment for kidnapping) and 302 (intentional murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). The spokesperson further stated that initial investigations identified the suspect as 40-year-old Zafar Hashmat, a resident of Faisalabad who had recently arrived in Pindi Bhattian and was working there temporarily as a labourer. The police spokesperson elaborated that the suspect was taken into custody and interrogated, during which he allegedly confessed to abducting the child for sexual assault, murdering him, and disposing of the body in nearby fields. In another FIR dated April 29, a copy of which was seen by Dawn, the Pindi Bhattian Saddar police claimed that the main suspect was killed by “his own accomplice’s firing”. The second FIR was registered after the suspect’s death. According to second FIR, a special team was formed under the supervision of the Pindi Bhattian sub-divisional police officer to arrest the other suspects, and roadblocks were established in the area. “A motorcycle carrying two suspects was seen speeding along a river embankment, where it was intercepted by a police mobile. Upon noticing the police presence, the suspects attempted to turn back but lost control and fell. The suspects then opened fire on the police pa