KARACHI, April 17: A sessions court on Wednesday sentenced a policeman to a total 13-year imprisonment in a robbery and sexual assault case.

The court found Constable Mohammad Saleem guilty of sexually abusing and causing injuries to a citizen and robbery in Orangi Town in July 2007.

Additional District and Sessions Judge (west) Abdul Naeem Memon pronounced his verdict after recording the evidence of witnesses and final arguments from both sides.

The court sentenced 10-year imprisonment in Section 377 (unnatural offences) and three years in prison in Section 392 (punishment robbery) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs10,000 in each section and in case of default he would have to suffer a total of additional three months in prison.

The court also sentenced him to six month in prison in Section 337 (shajjah) of the PPC and ordered to pay a compensation of Rs20,000 to the injured. However, the court ruled that all sentences of imprisonments would run concurrently.

The accused was present in court on bail and after the pronouncement of the verdict he was taken into custody and sent to prison with a conviction warrant to serve out the awarded sentence.

According to the prosecution, the accused intercepted the motorcycle of a man, deprived him of cash and took him to a check-point of the Pakistan Bazaar police station where he tortured and sexually assaulted the victim.

‘Illegal’ detention

A court nazir acting on the directive of a sessions court  raided the Pirabad police station and recovered a man apparently kept there in wrongful confinement.

The court official got the detainee released on a personal bond since the police had failed to produce any concrete evidence to justify his detention and bound the police, including the SHO and the duty officer as well as the applicant side, to appear before the district and sessions court (west) on Thursday.

The nazir will summit a report in the court on Thursday.