The disfigured remains of a Christian child were found in a playground, in the area of Khaliq Nagar, Lahore, on Sunday.
Forensic examination of the remains has led investigators to believe the child was sodomized, killed and his body vitriolized, in order to thwart identification of the murderers.
Police have arrested one of two Muslim suspects, an all points bulletin (APB) is in effect as a national manhunt takes place.
At 12pm on Thursday 9th March, Adan Masih (8 yrs) left his home in Kahliq Nagar, Lahore, to buy some sweets from the shop on his street, but never returned home. His parents were at work but his elder brother Danish Masih (14 yrs) became concerned with the delay as a 1 minute trip to the shop had exceeded 20 minutes.
Danish went to the shop and asked the shopkeeper about the whereabouts of his brother. The shopkeeper knew all the children and advised Danish that Adan had not visited his shop. Danish searched the streets and visited local neighbours for 1 hour bit had to return to his home to look after his elderly grandfather (70 yrs), younger brother Isaac (6 yrs) and sister Duwa (3 yrs). Danish thought that Adan may have been playing with friends so he waited for his parents to arrive home from work to locate him.
At 6pm his parents George Masih (35 yrs) and Sonia Bibi (32 yrs) arrived from Nishaad Stitching Factory where they work as labourers. Mr Masih noticed that Adan was missing and immediately asked Danish where his brother was. Danish explained to Mr Masih that Adan had been missing since 12pm which got both parents into a panic.
George and Sonia frantically knocked on the homes of neighbours and friends and many people began searching for Adan. After an hour of searching Mr Masih and his wife went to Nishter Colony Police Station to report their son missing, while Danish cared for the younger children.
For the next two days the parents’ continually called and visited, neighbours, relatives and friends in the area and asked if anyone knew the whereabouts of their son.
Sonia spoke with BACA to explain the devastation she felt when she learned her son was missing, she said:
“My heart stopped when Danish told me about his brother being missing.
“I did not know what to do.
I rushed out into the streets and asked my neighbors and the shopkeeper if they knew where my Adan could be, but nobody gave me any clue”
“I visited the police station numerous times, wanting to know of any progress towards finding my son, but for two days they also had no clue.
“I kept praying and asking pastors to pray for the safety of my child”
After the next paragraph is a very graphic image you may wish to avoid.
On Sunday at 2pm police called and informed Mr Masih that the remains of a body had been found at a local recreation park. Two young children found the decaying carcass of Adan while playing cricket and their parents had informed police. Mr Masih was asked to attend with his wife to identify the remains. Mr Masih was able to recognise Adan from what remained of his facial features and the clothes he was wearing.
Mr Masih, spoke with BACA and described the moment they discovered their child had been killed, he said:
“My wife and I felt an immediate surge of pain and revulsion.
“We began to cry, we beat our chests our child had suffered severe pain at the hands of some very cruel people.
“The cruel men destroyed his beautiful face and left him disfigured by acid.
“I felt a deep sense of despair, I had failed my son.
“I prayed for God’s forgiveness, I asked God to take care of my son for me.”
A police forensic team removed the body from the recreation park and took it to Jinnah Hospital Lahore for a postmortem and have advised parents that it is suspected that Adan was sodomized. They returned the body to the family the same evening and a funeral was conducted the same night.
George Masih has now filed an application against the murderers of his son. Nishter Colony Police have arrested one suspect, a Muslim man who recently located to the area with a friend some months ago. His cohort has already fled the area and is a fugitive and an APB has been circulated to ppolice authorities across the country and a nationwide manhunt has begun. Several homes and locations have been raided by police in their attempts to arrest the suspect.
A BACA team attended the the memorial service of Adan Masih held today (14th March). BACA has been asked by the family to provide a solicitor to prosecute the murder trial against the killers of their son. We would have to raise £1500 to afford a solicitor for this family and if you are minded to help you can donate towards this cost (here).
We remind you that it is very rare for the state to lead on murder or rape cases and that victims or their families are required to find their own prosecutors. Moreover, we expect this family to soon be threatened to drop the case or they will be coerced into accepting bribes via cohorts of the killers, due to Pakistan’s distasteful Qisas and Diyat Laws. These Sharia-based laws allow Muslim’s to escape punishment for heinous crimes by paying a bribe and securing the forgiveness of their crimes (click here).
George Masih and his wife Sonia are financially weak and cannot afford the cost of a solicitor themselves. Their home is rented and they have no equity they could release to support a trial. The meagre earnings they earn puts food on the table and they cannot afford uniforms, lunch money or the travel cost for their children to go to school, so all of them are illiterate. We would like to get their younger children into school. To support them we would need to raise regular donations of £30 per month per child. If you would like to contribute to this cost please donate (here).
Juliet Chowdhry, Trustee for British Asian Christian Association, said:
“An innocent child trying to purchase sweets has been brutally sodomised and raped, by two men intent on satisfying disturbing carnal desires.
“The parents of Adan faced with the atrocities of this crime, will now have to put their broken lives back together.
“The despicable evil act has created despair and fear in the local community.
“The failure by local police to apprehend one of the culprits has led to wider anxiety.
“It should not go unnoticed that Christian children are targeted by Muslim sexual predators.
“This situation has been created by the Pak-Government’s own making, as they have created a nation with tiered rights.
“Christians and other non-Muslims are on the bottom rung for justice, so they continue to be a priority target for these worst of crimes.”
She added:
“In a lawless nation crimes like the rape and murder of Adan happen with distressing frequency.
“When the Government decided to introduce the Qisas and Diyat laws (click here) to satisfy Sharia-proclivity, they destroyed the nation of Pakistan.
“The ability for criminals to emancipate themselves from murder and rape investigations has induced a sense of impunity for these heinous crimes.”
