Protesters gathered outside on multiple occasions, pelting it with stones and attempting to set it on fire
Authorities on Sunday sealed the shop linked to the alleged rape. murder of seven-year-old Muntaha Zahra after repeated attacks by angry residents left the premises extensively damaged.
Muntaha was allegedly raped and murdered inside a grocery store building earlier this week. Policearrestedfour suspects. who were later remanded into police custody for six days by Senior Civil Judge Chaudhry Imran Ali for physical interrogation.
According to investigators, preliminary findings suggest a store employee allegedly attempted to sexually assault the seven-year-old before killing her when she resisted. raised an alarm. The case took another turn on Wednesday when the Crime Control Department (CCD) said the prime suspect had beenkilledin an encounter in Sargodha.
The shop. where the alleged crime is said to have taken place, remained the focus of public anger for several days. Protesters gathered outside the premises on multiple occasions, pelting it with stones and attempting to set it on fire.
The repeated attacks shattered the shop's windows. severely damaged its main shutter, prompting the administration to wall up the entrance with bricks.
Following the incident, police removed the contents of the shop as a precautionary measure. Barbed wire was also installed outside the premises, and two police officers have been deployed there during the day. However, residents said officers leave after their shifts at night, after which some people return to vandalise the property.
Resident Muhammad Ali said the alleged crime against Muntaha was "unbearable". "The whole city is grieving. All the public wants is for the accused to receive the harshest punishment under the law so. no one dares commit such a crime again," he said.
Meanwhile. Sargodha District Police Officer (DPO) Muhammad Sohaib Ashraf said the victim's family had no role in the attacks on the shop.
Read:'Prime suspect' in Sargodha girl murder case killed in firefight
He said neither the victim's relatives had incited anyone to attack the premises nor was any family member involved in the incidents.
The DPO said police were investigating all aspects of the case. that legal action would also be taken against those responsible for repeatedly attacking and vandalising the shop.
"No one can be allowed to take the law into their own hands," he said.
Following repeated acts of vandalism, the local administration decided to seal the shop by walling up its entrance with bricks.
Another resident, Ayesha Bibi, said the grief of Muntaha's parents had become "the grief of the entire city". She called for the accused to be brought to justice as quickly as possible so that the bereaved family could receive justice. public anxiety over the case could be eased.
Muntaha,a resident of block 8, had left her hometo buy sugar from a nearby grocery store. went missing, upon which her family filed a complaint with the police. After registration of the report, police launched a search operation. reviewed footage from CCTV cameras installed in the area to recover the missing child.
Footage showed Muntaha entering the grocery store but not exiting it. Acting on the lead, law enforcement officials searched the grocery store building and found the child's body. Police collected the evidence from the crime scene to apprehend the suspects.
The City Police Station registered a case based on the complaint filed by the victim's father. naming four individuals, including the prime suspect.
According to the first information report, the main suspect had threatened the father of Muntaha during a dispute. warned of consequences he would remember for life. Police were investigating whether those threats were linked to the subsequent crime.
Later, Sargodha police arrested the main suspect along with three other accomplices.
The investigation was then transferred to the CCD.
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