KARACHI: A sessions court sentenced on Thursday two accused to 15 years imprisonment in as many robbery cases.

The court found Mohammad Ali Hajano, known for targeting the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) and its surroundings in a white corolla car by allegedly committing robberies and other offences during 2008-09, and his accomplice Umair Khan, guilty of robbing the houses of Khawar Shamim and Saad Sami in January and February 2009 in the DHA.

Additional District and Sessions Judge (south) Sikandar Ameer Pahore, who conducted the trial in the judicial complex, pronounced the verdicts after recording evidence of witnesses and final arguments from both sides.

The court handed them down the sentence in each case and directed them to pay fine of Rs25,000 each.

In case of default, they would have to serve additional six months in prison.

The court ruled that the complainants had rightly picked out the accused during identification parades before a judicial magistrate and also deposed against them before the trial court. The wife of a complainant was also an eyewitness and the evidence of all the witnesses remained unshakable on material points, it added.

The cases were registered under sections 392 (punishment for robbery), 398 (attempt to commit robbery or dacoity when armed with deadly weapons) and 34 (common intention) of Pakistan Penal Code at Darakshan and Gizri police stations.

The police arrested the accused in January 2009 and they were charge-sheeted in around 35 cases, including robbery/dacoity, attempted murder, attempt to outrage the modesty of women, street crime and in a murder case of a eunuch at Darakshan, Clifton, Defence, Boating Basin and Gizri police stations.

However, they have been acquitted in around half of the cases while Umair Khan was sentenced to three years in 2012 in an illicit weapon case. The court officials said that over a dozen of cases were still pending before the same court.

Four sent to jail for life in kidnapping case

An antiterrorism court sentenced on Thursday four accused to life imprisonment in a kidnapping for ransom case.

Asma Hayat, her husband Hayat Ali, her brother Nadir Ali and his friend Zeeshan were found guilty of abducting three-year-old Abdul Rehman in June 2013 within the jurisdiction of Rizvi Society police station and demanding ransom for his release.

Judge Imdad Hussain Khoso of ATC-VIII, who conducted the trial, also ordered to confiscate the property of the convicts.

According to the prosecution, Mohsin Pervez lodged a complaint with police about the abduction of his grandson on June 26, 2013, from outside his house in Jahangirabad.

Later, the kidnappers demanded Rs5 million from the complainant by threatening him of dire consequences. However, he kept on negotiating and within one month, the ransom amount was reduced to Rs3 million, it added.

Meanwhile, police arrested Nadir and Zeeshan from a house in the same locality and the mobiles used for demanding ransom were also found in their custody, the prosecution said. They led the police to the house of Asma where the child was kept.

The police recovered the captive and also detained the couple. Accused Nadir was once a neighbour of the complainant, it concluded.

Published in Dawn, July 31st, 2015

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