PESHAWAR: A district and sessions court on Friday handed the death sentence to the main accused in the Asma Rani murder case.
District and Sessions Judge Ashfaq Taj announced this verdict after examining evidence and hearing arguments of both prosecution and defence sides and sentenced the prime suspect Mujahidullah Afridi to death.
Asma Rani, a third-year medical student, was shot in Kohat in January 2018 after she refused a marriage proposal. She was taken to a nearby hospital after being shot thrice. In a video statement, she had identified Mujahidullah Afridi as the assailant before succumbing to her wounds.
Afridi fled the country and his name was placed in Interpol’s most-wanted list. He was arrested in Dubai in March 2018 with the help of Interpol and deported to Pakistan. The case was shifted to Peshawar from Kohat due to security concerns.
On Friday, a district and sessions judge conducted the hearing in the Peshawar Central Jail. The judge sentenced Afridi to death and acquitted two other accused, Siddiqullah and Shahzeb, for lack of evidence.
According to Asma Rani’s family members, she was returning home in a rickshaw with her sister-in-law when Mujahid Afridi shot her dead. She received three bullet wounds and was shifted to a hospital in critical condition where she succumbed to her wounds.
Police had registered an FIR of the case on the complaint of brother of the deceased, Muhammad Irfan, under Section 324 and 304 of Pakistan Penal Code.
