Man sentenced to 12 years for raping daughter

KARACHI:

A district and sessions court sentenced on Monday a man to 12 years in prison after convicting him of sexually assaulting his teenage daughter.

Saeed Ahmed Khan was found guilty of raping his 17-year-old daughter in their house in Gulistan-e-Jauhar three years ago.

The incident was reported in May 2012 after the victim, accompanied by her mother, approached the police, informing them about the sexual assault.

She told the police that her father had been sexually exploiting her for years and it continued till the day of the report. She stated that her ordeal started some four years ago when her father raped her for the very first time after making her drink tranquilised tea. Since then, she was subjected to sexual abuse as her father forced her into it whenever he found her alone at home, the victim added.

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The East district's additional district and sessions judge, Inam Ali Kalhoro, who presided over the trial, pronounced the verdict after scrutinising the evidence and testimonies of seven witnesses, including the girl's mother. A medical report also confirmed that the victim was sexually assaulted by the accused.

The judge ruled that the prosecution successfully established the case against the accused and the charges have been proved true beyond any shadow of doubt. The court also imposed a fine of Rs50,000 on the convict and observed that if he failed to pay the amount he would undergo an additional six months imprisonment.

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The accused was on bail and, following the pronouncement of the verdict, was taken into custody. He has been remanded back to prison custody to serve out the punishment.

The case was registered under Section 376, punishment for rape, of the Pakistan Penal Code at the Gulistan-e-Jauhar police station.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 13^th, 2015.