MANSEHRA/ DERA ISMAIL KHAN: The local courts on Friday awarded jail sentences to two people in sexual assault cases here.

Additional district and sessions judge of Mansehra Usman Bashir convicted a man for assaulting a minor girl with hearing and speech impairment in 2019 and handed down life imprisonment and Rs0.5 million fine to him.

The court also awarded seven years more imprisonment and Rs50,000 fine to the convict under Section 53 of the Child Protection Act, 2018.

“The convict will spend a total of 32 years in jail under both sentences announced by the judge under Section 376 of PPC and Section 53 of the Child Protection Act, while he will pay Rs0.5 million fine to be given away to the girl as compensation,” said Asim Mashhadi, lawyer for the assault victim.

Convict Mohammad Arif, a mason, had sexually assaulted a nine-year-old-girl at her Major Ayub Khan Road house on the outskirts of Mansehra city after sending her parents to the market to bring construction material.

Meanwhile, a child protection court in Dera Ismail Khan has sentenced a man to seven years rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs100,000 for attempting to rape two children aged 11 and 13.

Judge Mohammad Asif ordered that if the convict did not pay the amount of fine he would have to undergo another six months imprisonment and would have to pay an additional Rs50,000 as compensation to the families of the affected children.

According to the prosecution, Zahid, a resident of Bilalabad, Muriali, was charged with taking two children to an empty house on the day of the incident, where he attempted to sexually molest them.

The families and residents, while searching for the children, entered the house after hearing their noise. They held the accused and handed him over to the Cantonment police. A case was registered against him under sections 377/511 of PPC.

The court sentenced him under the Child Protection Act.

Published in Dawn, February 27th, 2021