A sessions court in Karachi has sentenced two men to life imprisonment on two counts for kidnapping and gang-raping a 10-year-old girl in 2022.
Additional Sessions Judge (South) Abdul Zahoor found Ghulam Rasool and Muhammad Khalid guilty under Section 364-A of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), which deals with the kidnapping of a person under the age of 14 and Section 375-A, which relates to gang rape.
The court handed both convicts two life sentences and also ordered them to pay Rs500,000 each in compensation to the victim, along with a fine of Rs200,000 each. The judge ruled that failure to pay the compensation and fine would result in additional imprisonment.
According to the prosecution, the victim and her family had moved to Karachi from Shikarpur after being displaced by floods. The girl had been begging near a supermarket in Clifton to support her family.
State prosecutor Irfana Qadri stated that on October 23, 2022, the two men approached the girl in a white Alto near Imtiaz Store and offered to provide her with rations.
The prosecution said that the girl got into the vehicle, after which the suspects drove towards Sea View, stopped at an isolated location and sexually assaulted her.
During the trial, the victim identified both the men in court and testified that they assaulted her in the back seat of the car before dropping her off at the same location where they had picked her up.
She further stated that she informed her mother about the incident, who then took her to a hospital for treatment.
In his written order, Judge Abdul Zahoor observed that the prosecution had presented a consistent case.
“The victim’s testimony is credible and corroborated by her mother’s prompt disclosure,” he wrote.
He added that the medical evidence, including DNA, linked both accused to the crime.
“The investigation, though not flawless, has established the identity of the accused and the vehicle used,” the judge stated.
