Man sentenced to ten years in prison for raping his teenage neighbor

A court has sentenced a man to ten years in prison for raping a teenager. Imtiaz Ahmed was found guilty of attacking his 14-year-old neighbor after taking her to Swat in April 2019.

Additional Sessions Judge (Central) Ghulam Mustafa Leghari ruled that the prosecution had succeeded in proving the charge of sexual abuse against the accused and sentenced him to ten years in prison.

The judge sentenced the convict to pay a fine of Rs 10,000 or an additional six months’ imprisonment. The accused, who was released on bail, was taken into custody and sent to jail to serve the sentence.

He was given the benefit of Section 382-B of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which means that the time he spent behind bars after his arrest will be counted towards his jail term. Public prosecutor Hina Naz Shams alleged that on April 3, 2019, Imtiaz along with absconding accomplices kidnapped the victim from her residence in Pahar Ganj, North Nazimabad and took her to Swat, where he sexually abused her.

She argued that there was enough evidence linking the accused to the commission of the crime and urged the judge to punish him as per the law. The victim testified that she heard a knock on the door late at night and she opened the door thinking it was her brother. She said when she opened the door, Imtiaz, who was standing at the door along with two unidentified persons, covered her face with a piece of cloth due to which she became unconscious. The girl added that she was in the Swat area when she regained consciousness. She said the accused sexually assaulted her and forcibly pressed her fist print on the Nikahnama.

She said the police later tracked her down and brought her back to Karachi. The accused, however, denied the allegations and said that the victim came with him to Swat where she married him of her own free will. He said the girl testified against him due to pressure from her family.

Initially, an FIR was filed at Shahrah-e-Noor Jahan police station under Section 365-B (abduction, abduction or forced marriage of a woman, etc.) of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of the victim’s brother. However, after investigation, the police added Sections 376 (punishment for rape) and 109 (punishment for abetment) of the PPC.