LAHORE: A Pakistani man bearing resemblance to the suspect accused of raping and murdering a seven-year-old girl in Pakistan's Punjab province has been detained and a DNA test would be conducted on him, police said today.
The girl in Kasur district was abducted outside her home earlier this month.
Her body was later found in a rubbish dump, triggering a nationwide outcry against the crime.
She had gone to a religious tuition centre near her house in Kasur city, some 50 km from Lahore, on January 5 from where a man said to be a 'serial killer' abducted her, police said.
The police had last week issued a footage of the unidentified man whose involvement they suspect in the case.
Police believe the suspect has assaulted nine girls, ages five to 10 years, and killed seven of them.
The two girls, who survived the attack, have been put under enhanced security. In the last one year, 13 minors have been killed after being abused in Kasur city.
District Police Officer Zahid Ali Marwat said they had examined 20 video footages, and of them, only footage, where the minor girl was seen walking with the suspect, was real.
The man was arrested due to his resemblance to the prime suspect appearing on the CCTV video with the girl has been handed over to the Kasur authorities, Lahore police officials were quoted as saying by Geo News.
The man was held from Bhatta Chowk in Lahore, the report said.
The authorities said that the suspect's mobile phone location shows he was in Kasur. The suspect has been handed over to Kasur police for his DNA test, the report said.
A police official, who is part of the joint investigation team (JIT), requesting anonymity, said the suspect had targeted the children of the families with the strong social background which triggered public outcry, Dawn reported.
Some police officials said in all cases, the suspected killer had left the belongings of the deceased children with their bodies in a careful manner, which suggested they did not want to eliminate the evidence.
Earlier, on January 16, a Supreme Court bench expressed its displeasure over the lack of progress by the Punjab government and police on the case.
The girl's murder was the 12th such incident reported in Kasur district in a year.
Kasur had made headlines in 2015 as well when it was revealed that a gang of paedophiles was busted for running a child sex ring in the city.