Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Zainab Ansari: CCTV captures eight-year-old's last moments as unknown man leads her away before rape and murder

Child had been on her way to a religious studies class in Kasur, eastern Punjab, when she disappeared on 4 January

Lucy Pasha-Robinson
Thursday 11 January 2018 16:24 GMT
Comments
CCTV shows Zainab Ansari's last moments as unknown man leads her away before her rape and murder

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

Footage has emerged of the last time an eight-year-old girl was seen alive before she was raped and murdered in Pakistan.

CCTV captured Zainab Ansari being led away by an unknown man in Kasur, east Punjab, on the evening of 4 January.

The child had been on her way to a religious studies class when she disappeared.

Police have not yet identified her alleged captor, and have weathered heavy criticism that they did not do enough to find the pair after the child went missing.

Her father, Ameen Ansari, who was on a pilgrimage to Mecca when Zainab disappeared, said: “My relatives and neighbours told me that the police used to come, have food and leave.

“While they didn’t do anything, my friends and family spent day and night looking for my daughter.”

Zainab's body was discovered on Tuesday on a rubbish tip more than a mile from her home.

Her case is the latest in a string of child sexual assaults and murders in the city.

It prompted bloody protests on Wednesday in which two people were killed and dozens more injured.

Four police officers have been arrested for firing shots into a crowd in the city, but police have not commented on whether the deaths are linked.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in