By: Ishaq Tanoli
KARACHI: A sessions court on Monday acquitted two more accused of the rape charge in the Nasima Lubano case.
Munawar Hussain and Moro Zada along with their accomplices had been charged with subjecting the 18-year-old girl to sexual assault in January 2007 in Ghotki district.
The district and sessions judge (south), Ahmed Saba, exonerated the accused after recording evidence of witnesses and final arguments from both sides. The judge ruled that the prosecution remained unable to prove its case beyond a shadow of a doubt.
In January 2010, the same court had sentenced Anwar Hussain to life imprisonment and acquitted six other accused, Shahzado, Abdul Jabbar, Khadim Hussain, Ali Hasan, Shah Baig and Bashir Ahmed, in this case while the accused in question were absconders at the time of the judgement, which stated that neither the offence of house trespass nor the outrage of the victim’s modesty had taken place and therefore the benefit of the doubt was given to the six accused.
But the case of Anwar Hussain was different because the offence of rape by Anwar and the absconding accused, Abdul Sattar, who is still at large, has been proved beyond a shadow of a doubt, according to the verdict.
According to the prosecution, the accused armed with weapons broke into the house of the victim on Jan 27, 2007 and took her to the residence of accused Abdul Sattar, where she was subjected to gang rape and then humiliated in public.
A case was registered against the accused at the Ubaro police station.
Initially, the case was tried in a court in Mirpur Mathelo. However, the Sindh High Court transferred the case to the district and sessions court (south) in Karachi on a request of the victim’s father.
