Two sentenced to death in motorway gang-rape case

LAHORE: An Anti-terrorism Court (ATC) on Saturday sentenced two men to death for gang-raping a woman in front of her children on the Lahore-Sialkot motorway last year, the first time the death sentence has handed down to those convicted of rape.

According to Geo News, the verdict, which was reserved on Thursday, was pronounced by Judge Arshad Hussain Bhatt. In the judgment, main accused Abid Malhi and co-accused Shafqat Ali, were sentenced to death, given life imprisonment, and fined Rs50,000 each.

According to Geo News correspondent Ahmed Faraz, the trial took place in Lahore’s Camp Jail, where Judge Bhatt had heard the proceedings. The judge arrived at the jail at 5pm and after 25 minutes announced the verdict.

The judgment was announced in the presence of the local magistrate, police officials and the culprits. The convicts will be transferred from Camp Jail to Kot Lakhpat Jail, where the sentence will be carried out.

This is a landmark decision as it is for the first time that convicts in a gang-rape case have been handed death sentences. As many as 50 witnesses appeared before the court to record their statements in the case.

The decision comes six months after the crime took place. On September 9, 2020, Abid Malhi and Shafqat Ali had raped a woman at gunpoint in Lahore’s Gujjarpura area in the presence of her children after her car ran out of fuel and she was waiting for help on the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway (M-11). The men stole Rs100,000 worth of money, jewellery, and ATM cards before fleeing, the woman had told police at the time. A criminal complaint of the incident—which had sparked protests across Pakistan—was lodged at the Gujjarpura police station under various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).

Prime Minister Imran Khan had taken “strict notice” of the incident, and later approved an ordinance for the chemical castration of sexual abusers. The draft of the anti-rape ordinance includes increasing women’s role in policing, fast-tracking rape cases, and witness protection.