MULTAN, Feb 16: The additional district and sessions judge of Alipur on Monday awarded four-year rigorous imprisonment each to the three accused in a sodomy case, which led to the Meerwala gang rape case in 2002.

Judge Saleem Safdar also imposed a fine of Rs20,000 each on Manzoor, Jameel and Punnu. In case of default, they will have to undergo another six months' imprisonment.

According to the prosecution, the convicts had kidnapped 14-year-old Shakoor and subjected him to sodomy in June 2002 in Meerwala village of Muzaffargarh district.

Later, Punnu locked Shakoor in a room along with his 19-year-old sister. He alleged that Shakoor had illicit relations with his sister and that he had spotted them in an objectionable condition. This required infliction of punishment to the Gujjar clan of Shakoor as he had dared to develop relation with the girl of Mastoi Baloch tribe.

A panchayat comprising elders of the Mastoi tribe had declared that to compensate the Mastoi clan for the disgrace Shakoor had inflicted upon it, the Mastois' youth would subject to gang-rape a woman of the Gujjar tribe.

The panchayat later enforced its verdict and Shakoor's elder sister Mukhtaran Mai (30), a divorcee, was subjected to gang rape by four Mastoi clansmen.

However, the incident got media attention and subsequently of the state authorities. An anti-terrorism court had handed down capital punishment to two of the panchayat members and the four perpetrators of Mukhtaran Mai.