Crime and punishment: Man sentenced to 35 years in prison for rape, murder

Azeemuddin raped and killed a nine-year-old girl in 2005.

KARACHI:

A man accused of raping and killing a nine-year-old girl has been sentenced to life imprisonment, in which he will serve 35 years in jail.

On Tuesday, additional district and sessions judge in district West, Irfan Ahmed Meo, gave the verdict against Azeemuddin who committed these crimes nearly eight years ago. According to the prosecution, the convict used to work as a tandoorwala [bread maker] in Mominabad. He lured a young girl, P*, into his shop when she came to buy bread on January 11, 2005. He raped the girl and buried her body inside his shop after he strangled her to death.



When the girl failed to come home after a long time, her father started looking for her. He informed the police later, after which the law enforcers raided the house and arrested Azeemuddin. The convict confessed to the crimes and led to the recovery of the girl’s body. However, Azeemuddin pleaded not guilty in the court and opted for a trial, said the prosecution.

In its judgment, the court ruled that the prosecution witnesses successfully implicated the accused in the commissioning of the crime and the medical evidence corroborated their testimonies. The prosecution successfully proved its case against the accused beyond reasonable doubt, it said.

The court also observed that the act of murder and rape was particularly heinous and the suspect made it even worse because he had tried to conceal the victim’s body. The judge awarded life term to Azeemuddin on murder charges and an additional 10 years in jail on rape charges. The judge also imposed a fine of Rs100,000 and in case he fails to pay, he will have to undergo an additional six months in jail.

The judge convicted the accused under section 265-H (2) of Criminal Procedure Code, however, entitled him to get the benefit of section 382-B (period of detention to be considered while awarding sentence of imprisonment) of the criminal procedure code and remanded him back to prison with conviction warrants.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 2^nd, 2013.