The prime suspect in the alleged rape and murder of seven-year-old Muntaha Zahra was killed in an encounter in Sargodha on Wednesday, District Police Spokesperson Khurram confirmed while speaking to The Express Tribune.

Muntaha had allegedly been raped and murdered inside a grocery store building a day earlier. Police later arrested four suspects and produced them before Senior Civil Judge Chaudhry Imran Ali, who remanded them to police custody for six days for physical interrogation. Police officials said preliminary investigations suggested that a store employee had allegedly attempted to assault the girl. When she resisted and raised an alarm, the suspect allegedly killed her.

According to Khurram, the encounter took place when officials of the Crime Control Department (CCD) were taking the main accused, identified as Arsalan, to recover the weapon allegedly used in the crime.

He said suspected associates of Arsalan opened fire near the Jhal Chakian Canal bridge while the accused was accompanying the CCD team, leading to an exchange of fire.

“During the exchange of fire, Arsalan was fatally shot by the attackers,” Khurram said.

The spokesperson said the suspected attackers managed to flee the scene. “CCD officials have initiated an investigation into the incident and are searching for the accused,” he added.

Police had earlier arrested four suspects in connection with the alleged rape and murder of the minor.

Read More: Four arrested over seven-year-old girl’s murder after alleged assault attempt in Sargodha

The murder

Muntaha, a resident of block 8, had left her home to buy sugar from a nearby grocery store and went missing, upon which her family filed a complaint with the police. After registration of the report, police launched a search operation and 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, Arslan.

According to the First Information Report (FIR), the main accused, Arslan, had threatened the father of Muntaha during a dispute and 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 prime accused, Arslan, along with three other accomplices after a case was registered at City Police Station under charges of murder and other relevant legal provisions.

The investigation was then transferred to the CCD.