September 25, 2026
By Asma Gul
PESHAWAR
A 19-year-old suspect arrested on charges of digging up and allegedly desecrating the body of a young girl in Peshawar’s outlying Budh Bair area, has been killed in an alleged shooting incident while in police custody.
The incident came to light on September 21, when residents caught the suspect Salman, son of Afghan, red-handed at a graveyard in Deh Sheikhan. Locals recovered the girl’s body from his possession and handed him over to police, after which the body was reburied.
Police say suspect involved in five previous cases of desecrating women’s graves
SP Sadar Division Fida Hussain told a press conference that a case was registered against Salman on the complaint of a local resident of Deh Sheikhan, invoking multiple sections of law including desecration of a graveyard, rape, the Child Protection and Welfare Act, and the Foreigners’ Act.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), a graveyard watchman caught the suspect after he had already exhumed the body of a two- to three-year-old girl, removed her burial shroud, and dressed her in clothes. Local residents allege the suspect had previously been involved in five similar incidents of digging up and desecrating women’s graves, after which residents had to rebury the bodies — though those earlier incidents were never reported to police.
A large number of angry residents gathered at the graveyard following the latest incident, and were later dispersed by police. CCPO Peshawar Dr. Mian Saeed Ahmed sought an immediate report on the incident and ordered the formation of an investigation committee to ensure a transparent and thorough inquiry.
Alleged gunfire and killing of uspect
Police said that on the evening of September 22, while the suspect was being taken to Sheikhan graveyard in custody to point out the crime scene, six unidentified armed men on three motorcycles suddenly opened fire at the police team.
According to a police statement, the gunfire damaged the official vehicle and an officer’s bulletproof jacket and helmet, while the suspect in custody was critically wounded and died on the way to hospital. Police say the attackers managed to flee after the shooting, and a search operation is underway to arrest them. Police also said that during initial investigation, the suspect had allegedly confessed to desecrating 10 graves.
Rising pattern of police encounters raises questions
The growing number of suspects being killed in police custody under suspicious circumstances in Peshawar has sparked intense debate on social media over constitutional and legal requirements.
Notably, on the night of September 6, police had arrested four suspects accused of forcibly entering a house in the jurisdiction of Rehman Baba police station, gang-raping two women, and molesting their minor daughter. On September 11, police claimed that these four suspects were also killed by unidentified gunmen while being taken to identify the crime scene.
Victims are denied real justice: KP NCSW
Dr. Sumeera Shams, chairperson of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Commission on the Status of Women, has also raised questions over the legality of the alleged gang rape of two women in Peshawar and the subsequent killing of the four accused in a police encounter.
Speaking to VoicePK.net, she said:
“Killing suspects in police encounters denies victims real justice. To uphold the rule of law, it is essential that the accused be brought before courts and all requirements of justice under the Constitution and the law be fulfilled.”
She also called on the SSP Operations Peshawar to conduct an immediate and transparent investigation into the matter.
An extrajudicial killing: Human rights lawyer
Shabbir Gigyani, a lawyer at the Peshawar High Court Bar and legal expert, termed the suspect’s death as an extrajudicial killing.
“The judiciary, lawyers, and the public are all well aware of these staged police encounters in Peshawar. It is the job of the police to bring a suspect before the courts after arrest. Millions of rupees are allocated annually in the budget for investigations. There is no doubt that gathering evidence and conducting investigations is a lengthy process, but that is precisely the job of the police — to record evidence and witness statements and produce the accused before a court. Instead, rather than eliminating crime, the police have made it their easy way out to eliminate the criminal. Such extrajudicial killings are not only un-Islamic, but also unconstitutional and illegal,” Gigyani told Voicepk.