An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) handed down on Saturday death sentence on four counts to culprit Imran Ali in the rape and murder case of minor Zainab. The verdict was announced by ATC judge Sajjad Ahmed.
He has been sentenced on four grounds—murdering a child, kidnapping a child, rape of a minor, and committing an unnatural act with a minor.
Ali has also been sentenced to seven years in jail with a fine of Rs1 million for desecrating the body of a minor.The prosecution counsel said that his team has brought the culprit to justice. He further said that the government of Punjab made countless efforts to put the culprit behind bars.
“Our judiciary now uses DNA evidence like other countries to conclude a case,” he said in a media briefing after the verdict was announced.
He further said that despite the confession they wanted to give him a fair trial and prove the case through scientific evidence.
Ali will now have 15 days to approach the court to file an appeal.
The verdict was announced in Kot Lakhpat jail amidst tight security. Zainab’s father was also present for the verdict.
On Monday, the ATC indicted Ali and started regular proceedings after the accused refused to accept the charges leveled against him in the challan submitted by the police. ATC judge Sajjad Ahmad also recorded statements of 20 prosecution witnesses during proceedings that lasted 11 hours.
According to the police investigation, Ali took Zainab to an under-construction house where he raped and killed her and later threw her body at a dumping site near her house. Zainab was kidnapped from near her aunt’s house in Kasur on January 4. Her body was discovered five days later.
The public demand for immediate arrest of the culprit resulted in an unprecedented search in which almost all law enforcement and secret agencies took part.
The public demand for immediate arrest of the culprit resulted in an unprecedented search in which almost all law enforcement and secret agencies took part. During the search, DNA test was conducted on more 1,100 people living in the vicinity.
This massive search led to the arrest of Ali whose DNA sample matched with those of eight victims, including Zainab. Ali is also accused of murdering Eman Fatima.
Advocate Mehar Shakeel, counsel for Ali, decided not to plead Imran’s case after he confessed his crime. The accused confessed that he had raped and murdered nine girls during his jail trial in Kot Lakhpat jail.
