PWs testify in minor girl rape, murder case | Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

Pakistan Press Foundation

PWs testify in minor girl rape, murder case

By Ishaq Tanoli

KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court on Monday recorded the statements of two prosecution witnesses in a case pertaining to the rape and murder of a minor girl.

A teenager has been charged with abducting his five-year-old cousin in July 2010 within the remit of the Clifton police station and subjecting her to a sexual assault before killing her.

Judicial Magistrate Abul Ala Jatoi appeared in court as a prosecution witness and deposed that on July 29 the accused was produced before him by the investigation officer of the case for recording his confession.

He submitted that after completing all legal formalities, he recorded the statement of the accused under Section 164 (power to record statements and confessions) of the criminal procedure code in which the accused confessed that he had taken the victim to the rooftop of his house where he raped her and later killed her due to a fear of being identified and dumped the body in a garbage dump.

The defence lawyer asked the witness during cross-examination whether the confession of the accused was recorded as per the law since he had committed some procedural errors. However, the magistrate replied in the negative.

The second witness of the day, a medico-legal officer of the Civil Hospital Karachi, testified that she had conducted the post-mortem examination of the victim girl, adding that the victim was strangled and was also subjected to a sexual assault before the murder.

The remaining examination-in-chief of the lady MLO was reserved till the next hearing as she did not submit a final medical report in court on Monday.

Judge Syed Hasan Shah Bukhari of the ATC-I adjourned the hearing till Nov 5 and directed the MLO to file the final report.

According to the prosecution, the accused took the five-year-old girl to the rooftop of their house on July 17, subjected her to rape and dumped the body in a football ground being used as a garbage dump in the Upper Gizri after killing her. The police took the accused into custody on July 19 and during initial interrogation he admitted his guilt, it added.

A case (FIR 184/2010) was registered under Sections 302 (premeditated murder), 364-A (kidnapping a person under the age of ten) and 376 (punishment for rape) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) read with Section 7 of the Anti-terrorism Act, 1997 on the complaint of the victim’s grandfather at the Clifton police station.

Warrants against two policemen out

A judicial magistrate (east) issued arrest warrants against two policemen for failing to appear in court to record their statements in a criminal case.

Mohammad Rehan was booked under Sections 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 506-B (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the PPC by the Ferozabad police station in 2009.

On some previous hearings, the court had directed two prosecution witnesses – Sub-Inspector Qamar Zaman and Assistant Sub-Inspector Mohammad Aslam – to appear in court and record their statements in the case. However, they failed to appear in court despite repeated directives.

The magistrate directed the SHO concerned to arrest the policemen and produce them in court on Oct 30.
Source: Dawn
Date:11/16/2010