Man jailed for 9 years for blackmailing woman after she rejects marriage proposal

A judicial magistrate court in Karachi’s East district has sentenced a man, identified as Owais Zia, to a total of nine years in prison for blackmailing a woman with her private photographs and videos after she rejected his marriage proposal.

Judge Gulraiz Memon also imposed a fine of Rs135,000 on the accused and ordered him to pay Rs1 million in compensation to the victim. The court cancelled his bail, and he was arrested inside the courtroom and sent to prison.

According to the prosecution, the accused lived in the victim’s neighbourhood and frequently visited her home. He had sent a marriage proposal to the woman’s family, but they rejected it after assessing his character and behaviour.

During their communication, the accused had obtained the woman’s private photographs and videos. Following the rejection of his marriage proposal, he allegedly began blackmailing, harassing and threatening the woman and her family.

The prosecution stated that the accused sent the explicit material to the victim’s father and relatives through WhatsApp. He was arrested from his residence in 2021.

Testifying before the court, the victim said the accused had threatened to prevent her from getting married or engaged.

The defence counsel argued that the case had been fabricated because of family resentment and financial disputes following the rejection of the marriage proposal.

The defence also claimed that the relationship between the accused and the woman had been consensual and that she had voluntarily sent him the photographs.

However, the court observed that the victim’s testimony remained strong and consistent even after cross-examination. It ruled that the defence’s claim of consent did not absolve the accused of responsibility.

The court further observed that using private photographs as a means of blackmail and intimidation undermined any claim of consent in the context of the alleged abuse. It held that using private material for coercion, harassment and blackmail constituted an offence under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA).

According to the court, the forensic report fully corroborated the statements of the witnesses.

The case against the accused was registered by the Cyber Crime Reporting Centre.