A 16-year-old girl was raped and killed in Balcheragh distict of Faryab province, local officials said Tuesday.

The governor’s spokesman Abdul Karim Youresh confirmed the incident and said the girl, Haiza, was raped by at least two men and strangled with her scarf.  

One person has so far been arrested in connection with the crime but investigations are underway, said Youresh.

Health officials in Faryab also confirmed the rape and murder.

The victim’s mother said that on Monday evening her daughter went out to feed the cattle when she was raped and murdered.

The mother has accused two neighbors.

The mother said when Haiza failed to return home the family went out looking for her. After a long search they found her body in a haystack.  

According to her, police have so far arrested one suspect but the second is on the run.  

She said the family does not want anything from government except to arrest the murderers and to pour fuel over them and set them alight.  

Mohammad Azim, a relative of the victim, said the family was very poor but had no enemies. Just two days before the incident, the victim’s father left to work in Iran, he said. On learning about his daughter’s death, he returned home.

Meanwhile Faryab human rights commission condemned the incident and said it was shocking. They called on judicial organizations to ensure justice is served.  

According to them, in the past year, 32 cases of violence against women have been registered – including 27 murders and five rape cases.