Man gets death penalty for rape, murder of six-year-old girl

A model court on Monday sentenced a man to death after he was found guilty

of kidnapping, raping and murdering a six-year-old girl in 2006.

Muhammad Irshad was convicted of kidnapping six-year-old Tajalli and then strangling her to death after he subjected her to rape in Gulistan-e-Jauhar 14 years ago. Model Criminal Court East judge Haleem Ahmed awarded capital punishment to Irshad on three counts while pronouncing the verdict reserved after recording evidences and the final arguments from both sides.

According to the prosecution, Tajalli had gone missing on October 9, 2006 after she had stepped out of her house. Her friend told the victim’s parents that Irshad had asked Tajalli to come in the evening to an open plot where he would give her toys.

The prosecution said the parents of the missing child had filed a police complaint, following which Irshad was arrested. In 2012 the previous trial court had awarded life imprisonment to the accused, but the Federal Shariat Court had referred the case back for a retrial two years later.

Prosecutor Anwar Mahar said that there was sufficient evidence to connect the role of the accused with the commissioning of the offence. He pleaded to the court to punish the accused strictly in accordance with the law.

However, defence counsel Zubair Rajput said his client was innocent. He requested that the court acquit his client. The FIR of the case had been registered at the Gulistan-e-Jauhar police station.