January 19, 2008	Saturday	Muharram 09, 1429

RAWALPINDI, Jan 18: An additional district and sessions judge (ASJ) here on Friday awarded life imprisonment to an accused involved in killing a person in Ganjmandi area in October, 2000 and also declared three other accused as proclaimed offenders (PO).

Judge Muhammad Iqbal Malik sentenced Muhammad Riaz for murdering Shehzad. The three accomplices in the murder - Riasat, Shaukat and Javaid - were declared the POs.

Riaz will have to pay Rs50,000 as fine to the heirs of the deceased and in case of non-payment, the convict will undergo further six months rigorous imprisonment, the judge said.

The ASJ also held him guilty of an attempted murder of Abdul Salam - a relative of the deceased and awarded 10-year rigorous imprisonment and imposed Rs20,000 as fine and in case of non- payment, he will face another six months imprisonment.

Riaz was also awarded one year rigorous imprisonment for seriously injuring an other man. The case against the accused was registered with the Ganjmandi police on the charges of killing Shehzad and injuring Abdul Salam and Muhammad Nazar.

Meanwhile, an anti-terrorism court awarded five years rigorous imprisonment to a man in a case of an attempted murder.

ATC-1 Judge Chaudhry Habibur Rehman sentenced Gul Rangeen to imprisonment, who was also accused of firing at a police team, trying to arrest him. Rangeen along with Sirtaj and Gul Mehraj was absolved of the murder charges of killing another person in the same incident, after a compromise was reached with the family of the deceased.

The judge also deferred the hearing in a case of terrorism involving eight men, from whom illegal weapons, a laptop with compact discs and hatred material were recovered, arrested by the Chontra police in September last year.