PESHAWAR, May 22: An additional district and sessions judge, Mr Pir Bukhsh, on Saturday convicted five persons, including three brothers, in a triple murder case and sentenced them to 22 years' rigorous imprisonment each with a fine of Rs20,000.

The court observed that the prosecution had proved its case against the accused and the evidence on record proved their involvement in the offence.

The convicts included three brothers Waris Khan, Khwas Khan, Ziarat Khan, and Azam Khan (son of Ziarat Khan) and another person Jawed Khan.

The convicts had killed two brothers Laiq Khan and Ajmal Khan and a passerby, Shahpur. The complainant in the case was Akram Khan, a relative of the deceased.

The incident had taken place on February 7, 2000, in the jurisdiction of Mathra police station.

The two deceased brothers used to travel in a tonga in the area and the convicts often told them not to drive the tonga through a specific area in the locality. However, they continued passing through the area. The prosecution claimed that the act of the deceased infuriated the accused persons and they fired at them which resulted in their death.

Juveniles Convicted: An additional district and sessions judge, Shahid Khan, on Saturday convicted four juvenile offenders charged with drug pushing and sentenced them to three years' simple imprisonment.

The convicted boys, namely, Khalid Khan, Zahoor, Asif and Sarfarosh were arrested on Feb 21, 2003, by officials of police station Mathani who recovered from their possession 20 kgs of charas. They were charged under section 9 of the Control of Narcotics Substance Act, 1997.