Zainab murder, rape case: LHC rejects Imran’s appeal against death sentence

Zainab murder, rape case: LHC rejects Imran’s appeal against death sentence

Lahore (Staff Report): The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday rejected Imran Ali, convicted in Zainab rape and nurder case, appeal against his death sentence.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan and Justice Shahram Sarwar Chaudhry heard the appeal filed by convict Imran.

The convict’s counsel presented the argument that Imran was not the actual perpetrator of the crime, and that the trial court which handed him the death sentence gave the verdict in haste.

After listening the arguments, the court dismissed the Imran’s appeal and maintained Anti Terrorism Court (ATC) verdict.

An ATC had awarded four times death sentence to Imran Ali.

Imran has been sentenced on four grounds—murdering a child, kidnapping a child, rape of a minor, and committing an unnatural act with a minor. He has also been sentenced for seven years with a fine of Rs1 million for desecrating the body of a minor.

Police arrested the main accused after his DNA matched the samples taken from the crime scene.

Zainab was found raped and killed, five days after she had gone missing from her home. Police say the girl was kidnapped near her home when she was on her way to take a Quran class. Her parents were in Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah.