NAROWAL: A district and sessions court on Tuesday handed down death sentence on two counts to a man for rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl at Chak Suraj near Zafarwal tehsil in 2018.

Reports said Zainab had gone to her neighbour Muhammad Qaiser’s house in March 2018 to return pliers. When she did not return home after several hours, the family members launched a search. The next day the family searched the house of Qaiser on suspicion and found Zainab’s body inside a large iron box.

The Laaser Kalan police had registered a case against Qaiser and his family under various provisions, including rape and murder, on the complaint of Rashid Ali, father of the slain girl.

On Tuesday, Additional District and Sessions Judge Narowal Shehzadi Najaf pronounced the verdict in the murder case and sentenced Qaiser to death on two counts. The court also ordered the convict to pay Rs1 million as compensation to the victim’s family.

The judge also imposed a fine of Rs20,000 on Qaiser along with six-year imprisonment under other provisions of the murder case. The court acquitted his five family members by giving them the benefit of the doubt.

Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2022