ATC reserves verdict on acquittal plea in five-year-old girl's kidnapping, murder case

LAHORE, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Jul, 2026) An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Wednesday reserved its verdict on the acquittal application filed by accused Kashif Raza in the high-profile kidnapping-for-ransom and murder case of a five-year-old girl in Batapur.

ATC Judge Shahid Sikandar heard the case. The accused was produced before the court from jail for the trial.

During the proceedings, counsel for both sides concluded their arguments on the acquittal plea. Following the completion of arguments, the court reserved its decision. The prosecution and the complainant's counsel opposed the application and requested the court to dismiss it, while Chaudhry Hamad-ur-Rehman Waseem, Advocate, represented the accused.

According to the prosecution, Kashif Raza is involved in the abduction and murder of five-year-old. Police have already submitted the challan before the trial court.

Investigators allege that the accused, who lived opposite the victim's house and was a friend of her father strangled the child to death after she recognized him and threatened to tell her father. The body was allegedly dumped in a nearby forest.

Police further stated that the victim's skeletal remains, blood-stained clothes and scattered body parts were recovered from the forest on the identification of the accused. Investigators said some body parts had been eaten by wild animals before the remains were recovered.