Lahore-Sialkot Motorway Gang-rape Case: Convicts Challenge ATC’s Verdict

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Lahore-Sialkot Motorway Gang-rape case: Convicts challenge ATC’s verdict

An ATC had sentenced Abid Malhi and Shafqat Bagga to death besides life imprisonment and fines after they were found guilty of raping and looting a woman on Lahore-Sialkot Motorway.

LAHORE: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-March 25th, 2021) The convicts of Lahore-Sialkot Motorway gang rape on Thursday filed appeal against their conviction before the Lahore High Court

Abid Malhi and Shafqat Bagga challenged Anti-Terrorism Court’s verdict against them in which they were awarded death sentence, life imprisonment and fine.

They asked the court to aside the verdict of the court.

On March 20, an ATC had awarded death sentence to the suspects of Lahore-Sialkot Motorway gang rape.

The decision was announced in Lahore’s camp jail.

The court sentenced both Abid Malhi and Shafqat Bagga after they were proven guilty by the prosecution for raping a woman who was travelling from Sialkot to Lahore.

The court also awarded 14-year imprisonment to both the convicts.

Earlier, the judge reserved the judgment, saying that it would be announced later today. But it the whole day as the reporters kept waiting outside the Camp jail in Lahore.

On March 3, 2021, the same court indicted Abid Malhi and Shafqat Bagga for allegedly raping a woman on Sialkot to Lahore Motorway .The suspects, however, pleaded not guilty and decided to fight the case.

The police had earlier submitted 100-page challan before the court and as many as 40 witnesses recorded their statements to the court in this case.

The victim woman herself, the complainant of the case and the person who dialed 15 call were among the witnesses.

According to content of Challan, Abid Malhi confessed that his guilty during investigation while Shafqat, the other suspect, recorded his statement to a judicial magistrate in which he also confessed his guilt.

Accused Abid Malhi, however, spent over Rs 100,000 he had looted from the victim woman.

Malhi was arrested from Faisalabad by Model Town CIA Police. Strict security arrangments have been made outside the court.

The father of the suspect informed police about presence of the prime suspect in Faisalabad and helped the police to arrest him.

Earlier, the suspect many times had dodged the police and escaped arrest.

The horrific incident took place on Nov 9th, 2020 when a woman who is said to be a French national was travelling along with her children from Gujranwala to Lahore at midnight. Her car went out of fuel and she parked her car at the roadside and started waiting for her husband to arrive there. She had also dialed Motorway police but it fell on deaf ears. Suddenly, the robbers reached there who took her jewellery, money and car’s document and also took the woman to a nearby place and gang raped her.

Fida Hussnain

Fida Hussnain is a lahore based journalist. He writes on politics, religion, social issues and climate change. He is also a research fellow at University of Gujrat.