KARACHI: A sessions court on Tuesday handed down a collective sentence of 45 years to two men in three robbery cases.

The court found Mohammad Ali Hajano guilty for targeting the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) and its surrounding areas in a white corolla car and allegedly committing robberies besides other offences during 2008-09. His accomplice, Umair Khan, was also found guilty of robbing complainants Zahid Iqbal Khilji, Amjad Rajput and Khalil Usman with their families in November 2008 and January 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 the witnesses and hearing final arguments from both sides.

The court sentenced both accused to 15 years in prison in each case and directed them to pay a fine of Rs25,000 per case. If defaulted, they would have to serve an additional six months in prison. All sentences would run concurrently.

The court observed that the complainants and their families had rightly picked out the accused during identification parades conducted by a judicial magistrate and also deposed against them before the trial court.

According to the prosecution, the complainants along with their families were returning home after visiting their relatives when the accused persons intercepted and robbed them outside their residences.

Cases were registered under Sections 392 (punishment for robbery), 397 (robbery or dacoity, with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt), 398 (attempt to commit robbery or dacoity when armed with deadly weapons) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code at the Gizri police station.

The police arrested the accused in January 2009 and charge sheets were submitted for 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 the Darakhshan, Clifton, Defence, Boat Basin and Gizri police stations.

Though the accused has so far been convicted in five robbery case, around 10 cases are pending before the same court and the accused were acquitted in the rest of the cases since the witnesses remained unable to depose and identify them before the trial court. Moreover, Umair Khan was sentenced to three years in 2012 in an illicit weapon case.

Published in Dawn, August 5th, 2015

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