Horror as woman gang raped after getting stranded on busy motorway with children | World | News
A woman was gang raped after running out of fuel on a motorway with her three children. Two men have been sentenced to death following the attack despite appeals.
A court heard how the victim was driving on a motorway in September 2020 when her vehicle ran out fuel and she became stranded. The prosecution said two armed men then approached her vehicle before smashing its window and dragging the woman and her children out. The victims were then taken to a nearby field where the woman was gang raped. Meanwhile, her children were threatened at gunpoint.
As reported by MM News, Abid Malhi and Shafqat Ali Bagga were sentenced to death over the attack near Lahore, Pakistan.
The men also stole money, bank cards and jewellery from the woman before escaping the scene. However, they were soon arrested following a lengthy investigation involving the Crime Investigation Agency, Punjab Forensic Science Agency and other law enforcement agencies.
In March 2021, they were both convicted under multiple sections of the Pakistan Penal Code and the Anti-Terrorism Act, sentencing them to death for rape along with life imprisonment and other punishments for related offences including abduction and robbery.
After being sentenced, Malhi and Ali Bagga launched an appeal but Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi and Justice Tariq Mahmood Bajwa has now rejected both appeals.
The High Court noted the traumatic nature of the crime and dismissed the defence arguments that the convictions were based on unreliable evidence. The prosecution maintained that the victim’s testimony remained consistent and was supported by substantial evidence, including medical examinations, DNA analysis and forensic reports.
Dismissing the appeals, the judge said: “In these circumstances, any undue leniency would amount to misplaced sympathy, diminish the deterrent effect of the law, and undermine public confidence in the administration of justice.”
