On January 9, dead body of a 7-year-old minor was found in a garbage dump days after the girl had been abducted. Later, forensic tests revealed that the victim had been sexually assaulted before being strangled to death.
The case sent shock waves across the country after it surfaced, igniting countrywide outrage and protests demanding arrest of the culprit and an end to Pakistan’s growing trend of child sexual assault.
Here is a timeline of court proceedings in rape and murder of a minor in Kasur.
January 23: Main accused in rape and murder of a minor in Kasur was arrested from a graveyard in the district.
January 24: The accused, Imran Ali, was given into police custody for 14-day physical remand by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) judge Sajjad Ahmad.
January 25: Lahore High Court (LHC) ordered the ATC to conduct hearings on daily basis and complete trial within 7 days. Also, the victim’s father, Amin Ansari, announced to fight the case of his daughter and appointed Advocate Aftab Bajwa as lawyer.
January 28: Supreme Court of Pakistan conducted hearing of the case in Lahore Registry. Amin Ansari and his lawyer were ordered not to give statements to the media. SC also demanded details regarding police officers, SHOs and DSPs, in Kasur. Moreover, family members of several other victims of the accused, Imran Ali, were also present during the hearing. The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) probing Kasur rape and murder case also presented its report before the SC.
February 6: Imran Ali appeared before the ATC in rape and murder case of eight minors in Kasur. ATC ordered a 3-day physical remand of the accused.
February 7: Amin Ansari’s counsel, Aftab Bajwa, filed an application in the ATC for provision of CCTV footage, DNA and Forensic reports. The application was rejected by the ATC citing reasons that ‘such records can not be granted in a high profile case such as the Kasur one’.
On the same day, the accused was presented before the court after his 14-day remand period ended. The court inquired about case proceedings, to which the relevant authorities responded that the case is in its final stages.
February 9: ATC conducted another case hearing after 2-day physical remand period ended. The prosecutor was asked to present evidences before the court.
Six evidences against Imran were presented before the court which included:
- DNA sample match
- Positive DNA examination results
- Identification via 4 different CCTV footages
- Picture comparison
- 56 people recorded statements against the accused
- Clothes that the suspect was seen wearing in the CCTVs were recovered from Imran Ali
The court also asked the prosecutor if the accused has confessed to his crime, to which he responded in negative.
The copies of the challan were provided to the lawyers of both parties in the hearing. Also, the prosecutor requested the court to hold the trial inside jail for security reasons.
February 12: ATC formally charged prime suspect, Imran Ali, in Kasur rape and murder case. During a case hearing conducted inside Kot Lakhpat Jail in the provincial capital, ATC judge Sajjad Ahmad indicted the main accused of rape and murder of a 7-year-old minor in Kasur.
February 17: ATC sentenced Imran to death on four counts on charges of kidnapping, rape and murder and life imprisonment for committing unnatural act with the minor. He was also fined Rs1 million by the ATC, announced Prosecutor General Ehtasham Qadir.