A Pakistani official says a serial killer may have been behind the murder of the girl whose killing sparked deadly clashes between protesters and police.
Rana Sanaullah, the home minister for Punjab province, says DNA testing has linked the killing to at least five other cases of child abuse and murder in the city of Kasur. Police have detained eight suspects, including two relatives of the girl.
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Zainab Ansari, 8, went missing last week while heading to a nearby home for religious studies. The discovery of her body, which was found in a garbage bin Tuesday, ignited clashes between residents and police that killed two people and wounded three others.
An autopsy has confirmed that Zainab was strangled and sodomized and suggests she was raped, the medical officer who carried out the examination, Dr Quratulain Atique, told CNN.
There were torture marks on her face and Zainab's tongue was crushed between her teeth, she said. The report suggests that when the autopsy was performed, she may have been dead for two or three days already.
Photos of the girl's notebook showed her apparent last entry, which was dated Jan. 4.
The residents say the authorities were slow to respond to the girl's disappearance, charges denied by police.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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