Man gets life in jail for raping 5th grader after kidnapping her

A sessions court has sentenced a man to life imprisonment on charges of raping a Class V student.

Aijaz was found guilty of sexually abusing his landlord’s 11-year-old daughter after abducting her from their house in Kearmari in February 2022.

Additional Sessions Judge (South) Abdul Zahoor sentenced the convict to life imprisonment for offence of rape as punishable under Section 376 (3) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

He awarded ten-year imprisonment to the man for offence punishable under Section 364-A (kidnapping or abducting a person under the age of fourteen) of the PPC.

The convict was ordered to pay a fine of 100,000 or undergo additional six-month imprisonment on default.

The judge, however, acquitted the convict's brother Imran and sister Kausar of the charge of abduction for lack of evidence.

According to state prosecutor Irfana Qadri, on February 7, 2022, accused Aijaz abducted his landlord's daughter, a Class V student, from her house in Gulshan-e-Sikandarabad and took her to Punjab where he sexually abused her multiple times.

On March 12, her father received a call from the Sialkot police, informing him that his daughter had been recovered.

In his written order, the judge noted that accused Aijaz claimed to have solemnised marriage with the victim girl and asserted that their relationship was legitimate. "However, this claim lacks substantial evidentiary support, as in like nature cases, the production of credible evidence to substantiate claims of marriage is always required because mere claim of marriage by the accused is insufficient without corroborating evidence, such as witness testimonies or documentary proof of the marriage," he added.

"In cases where the accused claims a lawful marriage as a defense against charges of abduction or rape, the production of witnesses to validate the marriage is important factor and as above mentioned, in support of his version, accused Aijaz did not produce any evidence as burden of proof lies with the accused to establish the legitimacy of his claim, especially when the prosecution has presented a prima facie case against him."

The judge said that the accused's failure to do so surely leads to the conclusion that the claim of accused was fabricated and unsubstantiated.

"Even otherwise, in cases involving charges under sections 376(3) PPC, the statement of the victim can be sufficient for conviction, provided it is credible and corroborated by other evidence. It is settled law that testimony of a victim, especially in cases of sexual offenses, holds significant weight," he observed.