The Lahore High Court on Tuesday upheld the death sentence ordered by an anti-terrorism court in the rape and murder case of a seven-year-old girl in Punjab province in January, Dawn reported. The convict, Imran Ali Naqshbandi, had moved the court for leniency on grounds that he had confessed to the crime.
Naqshbandi cited lenient court verdicts in developed countries after a convict had pleaded guilty. An anti-terrorism court had handed him four counts of death penalty, one life term and a fine of 32 lakh Pakistani rupees (approximately Rs 18.63 lakh) on February 17.
As many as 56 witnesses, including the girl’s uncle and brother, recorded their statements against Naqshbandi, Geo TV reported. A forensic report and polygraph test were used to prove the crime.
The girl’s body was found in a heap of trash days after she went missing from near her aunt’s house in Kasur on January 4. She was on her way to a tuition centre, and her parents were in Saudi Arabia for Haj. Her death triggered massive protests in the district, where there had been 11 similar cases in the past 12 months.
Ali was arrested on January 23. The Lahore High Court had ordered the anti-terrorism court to finish the trial within seven days of the indictment. The court has been conducting hearings daily since February 9, and he was indicted on February 12.
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