Man sentenced to 10 years in jail for raping daughter-in-law

A sessions court has sentenced a man to ten years of rigorous imprisonment for raping his daughter-in-law.

Irshad Ahmed was found guilty of assaulting the woman in April last year. The additional sessions judge (Central) ruled that the prosecution succeeded in establishing its case against the accused beyond any shadow of doubt. She sentenced him to ten years in jail and a Rs50,000 fine. In case of failure to pay the fine, he would have to undergo additional six-month imprisonment.

The judge observed it was an alarming situation that the accused who was like a father for the victim sexually abused her, which was “not only an offence but also a sin so these types of crimes should be dealt with an iron hand.”

She said women were unsafe in their own house due to such offence, which was a stigma for the whole society. State prosecutor Hina Naz contended that the victim, who is also the complainant of the case, fully implicated the accused in the case, adding that there was sufficient evidence to link him with the commissioning of the heinous crime. She requested the court to punish the accused as per the law.

The victim testified that she had been living with her husband and his parents since marriage in 2021. She said on April 19, 2023, accused Irshad, finding her alone in the house, entered her room and subjected her to sexual abuse.

The woman said that the accused had raped her multiple times prior to this incident but she remained silent for the sake of her as well as family’s honour and due to his blackmail. She further deposed that she informed her husband about her ordeal but he instead asked her to keep mum.

She said that she then went to her parents’ house and disclosed her father-in-law’s act to her mother, after which an FIR was lodged against him. The accused, on the other hand, claimed innocence, saying that he been implicated in a false case. The case was registered at the Bilal Colony police station under Section 376 (punishment for rape) of the Pakistan Penal Code.