Acid Attack case: Karachi court awards life sentence to ex-cop

KARACHI: A former policeman was awarded life imprisonment by a sessions’ court on Tuesday for burning his ex-fiancé with acid over his refusal to a marriage proposal in 2015.

District and Sessions’ Judge (east) Javed Hyder Phulpoto found Zeeshan Umar, a former police constable, guilty of burning 19-year-old Raheela Raheem and nephew on July 5, 2015 in  limits of Mobina Town police station in Gulshan-e-Iqbal

The judge also imposed a fine of Rs1 million on the convict. However, the court acquitted a co-accused Agha Sohrab.

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According to the prosecution, Zeeshan Umar and Raheela had got engaged in 2015, but their engagement broke a couple of months later, as her family considered Umar a mugger.

On the day of the incident Raheela was standing outside her house carrying her six-month-old nephew, when Zeeshan suddenly appeared there with acid that he threw on them, read the charge-sheet.

The attack completely burnt the face of Raheela, who lost one eye, while her nephew also had burnt wounds.

The accused was a police constable posted at the Mobina Town police station.

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The Supreme Court while taking notice of the incident had ordered police to provide security to victim and her family. The victim had later shifted to Islamabad.

The trial that was initiated on charges of attempted murder and causing injuries by corrosive substance took six years to complete.