Abid Malhi, the prime suspect in the Lahore motorway rape case, has filed an appeal with the Lahore High Court against his sentencing handed down by an anti-terrorism court. It sentenced him to death and life imprisonment.
Malhi and Shafqat Bagga raped a woman in front of her three children on September 9, 2020. It took the police one month to arrest the prime suspect, and Shafqat Bagga surrendered.
Two appeals have been filed in the motorway rape case — one by the convict and the other by the state. The prosecution’s appeal, on the other hand, says that the punishment handed to the convict is in accordance with the law.
The ATC has overseen all the investigations and recorded statements from the complainant, witnesses, and the suspects. “The convicts have failed to provide substantial evidence against the accusations.
It is therefore requested by the court to approve the decision of the anti-terrorism court,” it added. Malhi’s appeal has been filed under Section 25 of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997.
At the hearing on Tuesday, Justice Chaudhry Abdul Aziz issued notices to plaintiff Sardar Shehzad and the government summoning responses from them.
The ATC judge, on the other hand, sent a reference to the Lahore High Court to confirm the convicts’ death sentence. To back the verdict, Deputy Prosecutor General Punjab Muhammad Arshad Farooqi presented the record of the perpetrators during the proceeding.
