Imrana case: Father-in-law says he's innocent

Ali Mohammed, accused of raping his daughter-in-law Imrana, has claimed that he was falsely implicated in the matter because of a property dispute.

Mohammed, 69, said his three other daughters-in-law, who are supporting him, have filed a defamation suit against Imrana, who was at the centre of a controversy last year after Muslim clerics ruled that she should treat her husband as her son following the alleged rape.

"I have treated all my daughters-in-law including Imrana as my own children," Mohammed said before appearing in court Tuesday. Mohammed has been denied bail and is in judicial custody since his arrest in June 16, 2005.

The court has fixed August 17 as the next date of hearing in the case against him.

Imrana, a 28-year-old mother of five, has accused her father-in-law of raping her.