KARACHI: A magistrate on Wednesday sentenced a man to four years in prison for stripping a woman and blackmailing her on the basis of her nude photos.

Accused Shahrukh was charged with stripping the victim, taking her pictures and blackmailing her in Ittehad Town in September.

On Wednesday, Judicial Magistrate (west) Shiraz Ahmed Sheikh pronounced his verdict reserved after recording evidence and final arguments from both sides.

The judge noted that the prosecution fully established the charge against the accused without a shadow of a doubt.

The judge sentenced him to a collective sentence of four year and three months on three counts — criminal house trespass, assault or criminal force to outrage a woman’s modesty and criminal intimidation.

State prosecutor Saleem Abbas Soomro said according to the complainant his wife was alone at their home when accused Shahrukh along with an unknown woman came there and attempted to grab his wife.

He further said that the victim resisted his attempt but he managed to strip her, took her photos, threatened her of dire consequences if she narrated the incident to anyone and left the house.

The prosecutor argued that the pictures of the victim were successfully recovered and statements of the witnesses recorded, adding that the forensic and ocular evidence fully corroborated the allegations.

He pleaded the court to punish him according to the law.

On the other hand, defence counsel Bilal Memon contended that his client was innocent and he was framed in the present case by the complainant due to some personal grudge.

He submitted that the investigating officer did not record the testimony of any area resident as witness, as those produced by him belonged to the same family, thus they were not independent.

The counsel pleaded the judge to acquit his client of the false and fabricated charges.

A case was registered under Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 506 (criminal intimidation), 447 (punishment for criminal trespass) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code at the Ittehad Town police station.

Published in Dawn, December 23rd, 2021