KARACHI, Oct 5: A sessions court has sentenced two men to 15 years imprisonment in a murder case.

The two men — Saeed-ul-Haq alias Abdullah and Mohammad Arshad — were found guilty of killing Mohammad Shakeel Abbasi during a robbery bid within the remit of the Kalri police station in April 2005.

Additional District and Sessions Judge (south) Javed Ahmed Keerio, who conducted the trial in the judicial complex (central prison), pronounced his verdict on Tuesday night after hearing both sides.

The court also directed the convicts to pay Rs500,000 each to the legal heirs of the murder victim and in case of default, they would have to undergo an additional six-month imprisonment.

According to the prosecution, the convicts intercepted Shakeel on Mauripur Road in order to rob him, but the victim put up resistance and they fired at him. Later, the victim sustained bulled wounds and died.

The police arrested the accused in May 2005 in another case and du-ring interrogation, they confessed to their involvement in the present case, it added.

A case (FIR 104/2005) was registered under Sections 302 (premeditated murder), 392 (punishment for robbery) and 397 (robbery or dacoity with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) on a complaint of the deceased’s brother.

The court extended the benefit of Section 382-B (period of detention to be considered while awarding sentence of imprisonment) of the criminal procedure code and sent then back to prison to serve the remainder of their sentence.