An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Saturday sentenced the two main accused, Abid Malhi and Shafqat Ali, in the motorway gang-rape case to death and life imprisonment.
In this regard, ATC judge Arshad Hussain Bhatta announced the verdict in the presence of the accused and prosecution team at Lahore’s Camp Jail where the two accused have been imprisoned.
The ATC had concluded trial proceedings in the case on Thursday after the defence completed its arguments. The prosecution had presented 53 witnesses, including the survivor, the complainant of the FIR and the person who reported the incident on the police emergency helpline.
It is pertinent to mention here that the suspects confessed to have committed the crime in police custody, but denied the charges later during the trial. Malhi had used the stolen cash and phone during the period he was on the run.
On September 9, the woman was driving with her two children late at night on the Lahore-Sialkot motorway (M-11) within the limits of the Gujjarpura police station when her vehicle ran out of fuel.
She phoned the police for help, but before they arrived, two men took her and her children out of the vehicle at gunpoint and raped her in front of her children. They also stole her purse, which contained Rs100,000 in cash, a bracelet, the car registration papers, and three ATM cards.
The attack quickly drew widespread condemnation on social media, with some activists demanding that those involved be hanged in public.
But in a shocking televised statement, then-Lahore police chief Umar Sheikh blamed the victim for what ‘he felt’ were “mistakes made by the victim that led to her rape”, such she should have taken a different, busier, highway — not travelled at night — and made sure her vehicle had enough fuel.
The comment drew nationwide condemnation while the prime minister did not condemn the official’s statement.
Hashtags calling for justice for the victims have been shared widely on social media by ordinary people, opposition politicians and high-profile athletes. Hundreds, mostly women, gathered in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, and Peshawar, demanding an apology from Sheikh and justice for the victim.
Police arrested the suspects — Shafqat Ali and Abid Malhi — after a prolonged manhunt across the province during which the police detained more than a dozen suspects including the families of the prime suspects.
The police report said the accused were traced with the help of a record of their DNA samples, preserved by the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA).
Subsequently, the victim identified the suspects during a police lineup.
Reacting to the incident, Prime Minister Imran Khan said he would like convicted rapists to be publicly executed or chemically castrated.
In December, President Dr Arif Alvi accorded approval to an anti-rape law ensuring speedy trial of rape cases with women and children as victims and also allow for chemical castration.
According to an initial draft, the consent of the convict is not be required for carrying out castration, but it will be the discretion of the judge of the trial court.
