5 yrs RI for Jail warden in Pak woman sexual harassment case

Jammu, Nov 21 (UNI) A district court of Jammu and Kashmir has sentenced a jail official to five years rigorous imprisonment for impregnating a 'Pakistani prisoner within the jail premises in the 90s.

Poonch district court judge, AK Shan yesterday awarded rigorous imprisonment to Mohammad Deen, then jail warden of Poonch district Jail.

The woman Shehnaz had given birth to a child who lived in Indian jails and was finally deported to Pakistan but not before the issue had hit the newspaper headlines across the country.

According to prosecution, Shehnaz had crossed LoC in November 1995 near Raja Picket in Rajouri and arrested by the Security forces.

Later the Nowshera court awarded one-year imprisonment to her for illegally crossing the border.

Accordingly, Shehnaz was shifted to District Jail Poonch, where Mohammad was posted as jail warden, on November 10, 1995. In jail premises, Mohammad impregnated her.

The woman prisoner was shifted to district jail Amphala in Jammu on January 28,1996, where she gave birth to a baby in custody.

The new born baby continued to live with her mother in jail for no fault of hers.

The incident had become an international issue and the citizenship status of the new born and her parentage. Later the Jammu and Kashmir High Court also directed the government to grant certain benefits to the victim and her child, who were finally deported to Pakistan.

UNI HGV VA DS1438