KARACHI: An antiterrorism court has summoned prosecution witnesses to record their testimonies against a detained accused charged with raping five minor girls in Karachi.

Police claimed to have detained an accused for kidnapping and sexually assaulting minor girls in different areas of Malir between 2015 and 2018.

The matter recently came up for hearing before the ATC-X judge for recording statements of the prosecution witnesses.

The judge directed the investigating officer to produce the remaining witnesses against the accused and adjourned the hearing till Jan 28.

The court is conducting the trial of the accused in five identical cases of alleged sexual assaults on minor girls.

In a report filed by DSP Ali Hassan Shaikh, the IO of three identical cases, it had been stated that the suspect was caught while allegedly trying to kidnap a minor girl with the intention to commit rape in Sukkan.

The child was not subjected to any sexual assault.

On suspicion the police obtained the suspect’s sample for DNA test and sent it to a laboratory for matching with those drawn from four minor girls, who had been subjected to sexual assault, but the cases had been pending trial since 2015.

The prosecutor disclosed that the medical report revealed that the suspect’s sample had matched with those of five child victims of sexual assault.

The prosecution said the suspect’s involvement in other cases had been determined with medical evidence, thus he had been booked in those cases.

A report by DSP Khalid stated that the DNA sample of the present accused had matched with the victims in the two pending cases.

Five cases have been registered under Sections 363 (punishment for kidnapping) and 376 (punishment for rape) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 7 (punishment for acts of terrorism) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 at Sukkan, Shah Latif and Quaidabad police stations.

Contempt of court proceedings

An antiterrorism court has summoned the prosecutor general (PG) of Sindh to explain why contempt of court proceedings should not be initiated against him for disobeying court directives.

The ATC-V judge conducting trial in the judicial complex inside the central prison also told the PG to appear and submit his written reply to the show-cause notice on Dec 19.

On Dec 3, the court directed the PG Sindh to depute the district public prosecutor or deputy district public prosecutor (East), who had recommended a case against police officials and others for trial in ATC, to assist the court on the question of jurisdiction.

On Dec 12, assistant public prosecutor Shahid Mehmood Arain appeared in court and introduced himself as deputy district public prosecutor posted at the ATC-I and verbally submitted that he had been directed by the PG to attend the court.

Taking its notice, the judge issued a show-cause notice to the PG Sindh for disobeying the court’s order and had asked him to furnish a written explanation on Dec 15.

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2020