LAHORE: A man on Wednesday was given 60-year imprisonment as cumulative punishment after he was found guilty of throwing acid on a 21-year old woman who refused his marriage proposal.
Anti-Terrorism Court-I Judge Sajjad Ahmad announced the verdict after the prosecution proved its case. The court also imposed fine of Rs3.9 million on Asmatullah, the convict.
The court handed him two-times 25-year imprisonment under Section 7 of Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, and Section 324 and Section 336/B of Pakistan Penal Code, 1860.
Beenish Sharif, the victim, lost her eyes and face after the convict threw acid on her body when she was going to her home along with her father Muhammad Sharif in Defence A police precinct.
The convict was at large and was hiding somewhere in Bhakar from where the police arrested him.
Advocate Gull Hassan Abbass, the lawyer who represented the victim girl, told The Nation that Asmatullah and Beenish had been engaged for a couple of years. However, the girl’s family came to know that Asmat was not a man of good character and announced that they did not want to marry their daughter to him.
Abbas said Asmat who belonged to Bhakar had been working with a local store in Defence and had not any home in Lahore. The girl’s family asked him to buy any home first but he said he had no money and borrowed Rs500,000 from the family to buy a home.
The lawyer said the convict did not buy any home and rather deceived the family that he had put down Rs 500,000 in cash and took out a mortgage for rest. On this fraud, he said, the family broke the engagement which subsequently angered the convict for committing the said crime.
