Karachi [Pakistan], April 15 (ANI): A sessions court has sentenced a 10-year prison sentence to a young man after convicting him of raping a teenage girl, Dawn reported.

After hearing arguments and reviewing evidence from the prosecution and defence, Additional District and Sessions Judge (Central) Mirza Tauseef Ahmed declared Zeeshan alias Shani guilty of raping the teenage girl while she was at home by herself.

The court further ordered the convict to pay Rs 1,00,000 as compensation for the mental trauma and distress suffered by the survivor. In case of non-payment, he will undergo additional imprisonment.

'The maximum punishment for the offence of rape under Section 376, PPC is death penalty, or imprisonment of not less than ten years and up to twenty-five years, and the offender shall also be liable to fine. However, since the convict is a first offender, having no previous criminal record and is a young man aged 22 years, who needs to be integrated in the society after serving out his sentence, he deserves leniency in sentencing,' the judge wrote in the verdict reported by Dawn.

The survivor testified in court, according to state prosecutor Hina Naz Shams, that in June 2024, when she was by herself at her Golimar home after her family had left, the tenant's brother allegedly broke in and committed the crime by force. If she told anyone about the assault, he also threatened to hurt her and her family.

She added that her family learned about the incident after she later confided in her elder sister.

She further asserted that the convict's brother had left to visit his in-laws in Hyderabad with his wife, therefore, he was not at home at the time.

The defence attorney contended that the FIR was filed after a four-day delay and refuted the accusations made against the prisoner during the trial. He asserted that the convict's refusal of the survivor's marriage proposal and some tenancy conflicts were the reasons behind the convict's involvement in the fake case. He also emphasised the survivor's statement and the dispensaries in the FIR.

Prosecutor Hina, on the other hand, gave an explanation for the FIR's delay while claiming that the victim and complainant fully supported the prosecution's case and that the accusation was supported by DNA and medical records.

She said that the defence plea of tenancy conflict and refusal of marriage proposal was baseless, and that the survivor had recognised the accused.

Regarding the delay plea, the court noted that, 'the FIR was lodged with a delay of four days, the victim explained that it was due to her honour and threats to her and her family, as well as emotional blackmail by the accused that he would kill himself.'

It was also observed that the accused had taken the defence plea that 'there was a tenancy dispute between the complainant and his brother, and the complainant wanted to marry the victim to him.' Such defensive pleadings contradict each other.'

The court noted that the accused failed to present substantial evidence to back up his assertions, which was his job after the prosecution proved its case with corroborative evidence. The case was filed at the Rizvia Society Police Station under Section 376 (rape) of the Pakistan Penal Code, Dawn reported. (ANI)