KARACHI: An antiterrorism court (ATC) awarded death sentence to an accused in a five-year-old case pertaining to rape of a minor girl.

Amjad Ali alias Zakir was found guilty of raping a minor girl within the jurisdiction of Shah Latif Town police in 2017.

The judge of ATC-V, who conducted the trial in the judicial complex inside the central prison, pronounced his verdict which had earlier been reserved after recording evidence and final arguments from both sides.

The judge ruled that the accused “Amjad Ali, alias Zakir, without any shadow of doubt is convicted under the Section 376(3) of the Pakistan Penal Code”.

The judge further ruled that “he is hereby, sentenced to death … under intimation to this Court”.

However, the death penalty is subject to confirmation by Sindh High Court, as provided under the Section 376 (power to High Court to confirm sentence or annul conviction) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Therefore, the trial court directed the office to send record of proceedings of the case to the SHC in terms of Section 25 (2) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 for confirmation of the death sentence as required under the Section 374 (sentence of death to be submitted by Court of Session) of the Cr.PC.

In the meanwhile, the convict can also file an appeal with the high court against his conviction.

Witnesses summoned in four other cases

The same court summoned witnesses for recording their testimonies against the accused, Amjad, in four other cases pertaining to sexually abusing four minor girls in different areas of Malir.

It also directed the prosecution to ensure presence of the witnesses while the investigating officers were told to produce case properties on the next date of hearing.

According to the prosecution, police claimed to have detained the accused for kidnapping and sexually assaulting minor girls in Malir between 2015 and 2018.

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

He further said that though the child was not subjected to any sexual assault, the police on suspicion obtained the suspect’s DNA sample and sent it to a laboratory for matching with those drawn from four minor girls, who had been subjected to sexual assault. The cases had been pending a trial for “want of evidence” since 2015.

The IO Shaikh had disclosed that the medical report had dramatically revealed that the suspect’s sample had matched with those of the five children, who were victims of sexual assault. Subsequently, the prosecution said, involvement of the accused in other cases had also been determined with medical evidence, thus he was booked in other cases as well.

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

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2022