Man sentenced to 14 years in prison for throwing acid on wife

A sessions court has sentenced a man to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment in an acid attack case. Shabbir Ahmed was found guilty of throwing acid on his wife at their house within the Khawaja Ajmir Nagri police remits in June 2021.

The additional sessions judge-II (Central) ruled that the prosecution succeeded in establishing its case against the accused beyond any shadow of doubt, awarding him 14-year imprisonment.

The convict was ordered to pay a Rs1 million fine and in case of default he would have to undergo additional six-month imprisonment. “In my view, burning someone with acid is a bigger crime than murder,” observed the judge.

State prosecutor Hina Naz Shams contended that accused Shabbir threw acid on his wife in the wee hours of June 9, 2021 and fled. She said the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses as well as medical evidence linked the accused with the commissioning of the offence, requesting the judge to punish him as per the law.

The victim testified that she had married the accused, who is her cousin, about 10-12 years back and they have six children from the marriage. She said she raised all her children on the income she earned while working as a housemaid.

The woman deposed that her husband would always quarrel and beat her and suspected her of having some affair. Recounting the harrowing incident, she said she along with her children was present at home when the accused threw acid and escaped.

Before the incident, she said the accused had attempted to kill her with a knife, prompting her to file a complaint against him with the police.

In her statement under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), the accused, who worked as security guard, denied his involvement in the crime. He claimed that he was not at home at the time of the incident. However, he failed to produce sufficient evidence or documentary proof to support his alibi.

An FIR was lodged under Section 336-B (punishment for hurt by corrosive substance) of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of the victim’s mother.