KARACHI: A sessions court sentenced on Wednesday a man to 10 years in prison in a rape case.

Mohammed Adil was found guilty of sexually assaulting his teenage niece in Nov 2013 at his house within the jurisdiction of the Sharea Faisal police station.

Additional District and Sessions Judge (east) Inam Ali Kalhoro also imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 and in case of default the convict would have to undergo an additional two-month imprisonment.

The court ruled that the victim testified against the accused, her testimony was corroborated by documentary evidence, including the report of a DNA test, and the case stood proved against him beyond a shadow of a doubt.

According to the prosecution, the victim’s mother remarried after the death of her first husband, the father of the victim girl who started living with her maternal grandparents.

However, her uncle repeatedly raped her and when the victim informed her mother she asked her to stay silent, it added.

It said that the victim got pregnant and finally a case was registered a few months before she gave birth to a boy.

During the trial, the accused rejected all charges and the court ordered a DNA test, which revealed that the accused was the biological father of the child, it concluded.

A case was registered under Sections 376 (punishment for rape) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of the victim.

The accused was in custody and after the pronouncement of the verdict, the court remanded him back in prison to serve out the sentence.

The court acquitted the victim’s mother, a co-accused in the case, for lack of evidence.

Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2016