An anti-terrorism court in Khairpur has extended the duration of police custody for Pir Asad Shah Jilani, the key accused in the sexual assault and mysterious death of ten-year-old Fatima Farriro in Ranipur.
The remand of another accused was also extended.
Jilani was presented before an anti-terror court in Khairpur on Thursday along with his accomplice Imtiaz Mrasi amid strict security.
Lawyers representing the victim's family, including Nisar Bambharo, Suhail Memon, Safdar Kansaro and others, expressed their reservations over the performance of the police. They criticised the police for failing to arrest Hina Shah, the wife of the main accused, despite the passage of nearly four weeks.
They further told the court that the parents of the victim were receiving threats and were being pressured by influential figures to withdraw the case.
During the hearing, the court extended the duration of police custody of Jilani and Mrasi for another seven days.
The lawyers also expressed their trepidation over the delayed reports for the DNA samples, which had been sent to laboratories for forensic examination.
Earlier, police had sent the suspect's phone to the forensic laboratories to extract data after the suspect repeatedly gave incorrect pin codes resulting in the device being locked.
His past DNA samples also did not match the samples collected from the girl. Resultantly he was sent to Karachi to obtain fresh DNA samples to match them.
Meanwhile, police had apprehended Jilani's driver, who is being treated as an accomplice. Other girls held captive at Jilani's mansion were also recovered by police even as the victim's family sought the inclusion of Jilani's father-in-law in the FIR.
Last month, a video had emerged of ten-year-old Fatima Farriro writhing in pain before passing away inside the mansion of Jilani. She was subsequently buried without an autopsy under questionable circumstances. But as hue and cry over the case grew, the girl's body was exhumed and a post-mortem was carried out which disclosed that the girl suffered torture apart from rape and sodomy.