SHC upholds conviction of two, acquits as many others in abduction and rape case

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has dismissed the appeal of two men against their conviction in a rape and abduction case but acquitted two other accused for want of evidence.

The appellants, Hamza, Faizan, Haroon and Jehanzaib, were sentenced to life imprisonment by a Central additional district and sessions court that found them guilty of kidnapping a girl in Rizvia society and subjecting her to rape.

A counsel for the appellants submitted that they had been involved in the case falsely by the police at the instance of the complainant party. They submitted that the FIR had been lodged after a delay of one day and the DNA report was defective while the evidence of the prosecution witnesses had not been appraised properly by the trial court.

A deputy prosecutor general supported the impugned judgment and submitted that the prosecution had proved its case against the appellants beyond any shadow of doubt. A single bench of the SHC comprising Justice Irshad Ali Shah after hearing the arguments and perusal of the evidence observed that the case of Hamza and Faizan was distinguishable with Haroon and Jehanzaib, who was juvenile.

The court observed that the victim had stated that Hamza was a friend of her brother Qasim and she came into contact with him and he also showd his liking for her but the victim discontinued her friendship with him at the instance of her brother.

The high court observed that Hamza and Faizan, alias Toti, had kidnapped the victim under deception as they had offered to drop her at her home, and they later raped her. The SHC observed that the two appellants were identified by the victim in the identification parade and the DNA report also supported the prosecution version against them.

The high court observed that the prosecution had been able to prove its case against Hamza and Faizan beyond any shadow of doubt and dismissed their appeals. However, the SHC observed that sufficient evidence was not found against Haroon and Jehanzaib as they were not identified by the victim during the identification parade. The bench acquitted the two from the kidnapping and rape charges.