Court frees 4 men in gang-rape case

KARACHI: A sessions court acquitted all four men accused in the Kainat Soomro gang-rape case by giving them the benefit of the doubt on Thursday.

Soomro had alleged that she was kidnapped from her house in village Mehar, Dadu, on January 10, 2007 and claimed that she was raped by Shaban Sheikh, Kaleemullah Lashari, Ahsan Thebo and Roshan Ali Thebo. An FIR was registered against them on January 19, 2007, and the case proceedings started in February this year. The counsel for the accused, Waqar Shah, told The Express Tribune that Kainat’s family never had enough evidence to prove his clients guilty.

“Kainat is married to Ahsan Thebo and we had produced the nikah nama in court, which she had signed in front of a magistrate. We also produced videos and pictures of the married couple,” said Shah, adding that they won the case because of the genuine evidence they presented in court. However, Soomro has been denying the marriage, saying that it was a cover-up for Ahsan and the accused, which include Ahsan’s father, Roshan.

“If the nikah was genuine, why didn’t they present the magistrate or the Qazi in court, even when they were asked to?” she told The Express Tribune. According to Waqar Shah, his clients had spent three years in prison “in spite of being innocent”. “I have advised her to consummate the marriage and live a dignified life,” he said. But Soomro has said she will not give up.

“We will take up the case to the Sindh High Court and the Supreme Court. I appeal to the Chief Justice to take a suo motu action against the men who ruined my life.” The released men said that they would go to court against Soomro family for involving them in the case. “We are filing a damages case against the family and will ask for a restitution of conjugal rights.”