Man convicted of raping daughter, sentenced to collective 32-year imprisonment

A sessions court on Thursday awarded a collective sentence of 32 years imprisonment to a man on charges of raping his daughter and criminal intimidation.

Muhammad Shahid was found guilty of assaulting his daughter at their house within the jurisdiction of the New Karachi police station in May 2020. Additional Sessions Judge (Central) Mirza Tauseef Ahmed ruled that the prosecution had succeeded in proving the charges of sexual abuse and criminal intimidation against the accused.

He awarded 25 years of rigorous imprisonment to the convict for the offence punishable under the Section 376 (rape) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). The accused was also handed down seven-year imprisonment for criminal intimidation punishable under the Section 506 of the PPC. He was ordered to pay a collective fine of Rs250,000 or undergo an additional imprisonment on default.

According to state prosecutor Hina Naz Shams, the victim stated that she lived with her parents and six siblings in a house in New Karachi Sector 11-E. She said that on May 25, 2020, her father subjected her to abuse when her mother was admitted to a hospital due to being ill and her siblings were asleep in another room. The father later threatened to kill her if she spoke about her ordeal to anyone.

She said that her father assaulted her many times and she eventually became pregnant. The complainant said her mother asked her to undergo an abortion but she refused, adding that she gave birth to a premature baby of seven months.

In her testimony, she recalled that she came in contact with a person on Facebook whom she narrated the entire incident. He was ready to marry her, she said,adding that the accused had also threatened to kill him if he disclosed the incident to anyone.

After their marriage, she submitted applications to the Sindh inspector general of police, DIG, SSP and other relevant officials for action against her father and even then her mother insisted that she take back the application otherwise her father would maltreat her.

On August 17, 2021, her statement was recorded and an FIR was lodged at the New Karachi police station, she added. In his statement, the accused however denied the prosecution charges and claimed to be innocent.

In his written order, the judge noted that there was a delay in lodging of the FIR as the complainant reported the incident of May 25, 2020 to the police on August 17, 2021 but she had fully explained the delay stating that her mother had restrained her from disclosing the incident for the sake of her siblings and herself. She had also stated that she was criminally intimidated by her own father.