KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Tuesday upheld a death sentence awarded by a trial court to a man in a case pertaining to the murder of an engineer.

A district and sessions court had sentenced Ejaz Nawaz to death in August 2015 after finding him guilty of killing Mudassir Hayat, a solar energy engineer in the Defence area, during a robbery at Korangi Crossing bus stop in May 2012.

The convict had challenged the capital punishment before the SHC and after hearing both sides and examining the evidence, a two-judge appellate bench of the SHC headed by Justice Niamatullah Phulpoto dismissed the appeal and upheld the verdict of the trial court.

The district and sessions judge (Malir) had also sentenced the convict to three years in prison in the offence of robbery bid.

The trial court had observed that the evidence of two passers-by and a sister of the deceased, who was also an eyewitness, remained unshakable on material points and the documentary evidence also corroborated their testimonies.

According to the prosecution, the victim and his sister, a university student, were waiting for the varsity bus and in the meantime two men riding on a motorbike tried to rob them.

The robbers shot dead Hayat when he put up resistance. Area people present around the crime scene managed to capture the accused while his accomplice Naveed alias Zain escaped, it added.

A case was registered on the complaint of the deceased’s father at the Ibrahim Haideri police station.

Published in Dawn, September 26th, 2018