It was a month before Iqbal turned himself in at the offices of the Urdu-language newspaper Daily Jang on 30 December, 1999.He was subsequently arrested.



He stated that he had surrendered to the newspaper because he feared for his life and was concerned that the police would kill him.

Although his diary contained detailed descriptions of the murders, and despite the handwriting on the placards in his house matching Iqbal's, he claimed in court that he was innocent and that the entire affair was an elaborate hoax to draw attention to the plight of runaway children from poor families.