KARACHI: The Sindh High Court upheld the conviction of two men awarded by the trial court in a case pertaining to the kidnapping and murder case of a young girl.

An antiterrorism court had sentenced Mohammad Ayub to death and co-accused Mohammad Ahsan to life term after finding them guilty of abducting and killing 12-year-old Kulsoom in Mochko for ransom in December 2008.

Both the convicts challenged the conviction before the SHC and after hearing both sides and examining the evidence, a division bench headed Justice Aftab Ahmed Gorar dismissed the appeals and observed that there were no mitigating or extenuating circumstances warranting lesser punishment to the accused.

According to the prosecution, Ayub was the tutor of the girl and he kidnapped her and demanded Rs300,000 from her father for her release. Later, they killed the captive and dumped her body in the water tank of an under-construction house in Orangi Town area.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2018