‘Serial’ child rapist awarded death penalty in second case

An anti-terrorism court on Tuesday handed down death penalty to a man for sexually assaulting a minor girl.

Amjad Ali alias Zakir was convicted of raping the victim within the remits of the Sukhan police station in 2017. He is said to be a serial child rapist as this is the second case of sexual abuse in which he has been convicted.

The ATC-X judge pronounced his judgement earlier reserved after recording evidence and hearing final arguments from both defence and prosecution sides. “Accused Amjad Ali, without any shadow of doubt, is convicted under Section 376 (3) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and sentenced to death,” the judge ruled. “He shall be hanged by neck till his death with intimation to this court.”

However, he added, the capital punishment was subject to confirmation by the Sindh High Court as provided under Section 376 (power to High Court to confirm sentence or annul conviction) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). In the meantime, the convict can also file an appeal with the high court against the sentence.

According to the prosecution, the complainant, who is the mother of the victim, used to work in a factory and resided in the nearby Labour Square flats along with her three minor daughters. Her husband lives in Punjab.

On the day of the incident, accused Amjad, who had been conducting reconnaissance, entered the complainant’s house on the pretext of renting the premises when she was away. He locked up two other minors in one room and sexually abused the victim and escaped.

An FIR was lodged under Section 376 (punishment for rape) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) read with Section 7 (punishment for terrorism) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 at the Sukhan police station. Previously, the accused was convicted of sexually abusing a minor girl within the jurisdiction of the Shah Latif Town police station in 2017.