KARACHI: A model court on Saturday awarded life imprisonment to a convict in a six-year-old murder case.

Najeeb Pathan was found guilty of killing Huzaifa Fakharuddin and wounding an eight-year-old child on Oct 13, 2013 within the remit of the Kharadar police station.

On Saturday, additional district and sessions judge Kamran Atta Soomro of the model criminal trial court (South) pronounced his judgement reserved after recording evidence and final arguments from both sides.

The judge also ordered the convict to pay Rs300,000 in compensation to the legal heirs of the victim. He was also handed down five-year imprisonment and a fine of Rs50,000 for causing firearm injuries to the underage boy. All sentences would run concurrently.

The court kept the case against alleged absconders Moinuddin, alias Moin Bengali, Kamal, Goga Bengali and Jan Mohammad on the dormant file till their arrest or surrender in the present case.

According to the prosecution, the armed motorcyclists opened indiscriminate fire in Chabba Gali that killed 30-year-old Fakharuddin and wounded his eight-year-old cousin Mohammad as they went to the market to buy fodder for animals.

The victim, who belonged to the Bohra community, was buying gutka when the incident took place.

In his statement, recorded under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code, convict Najeeb Pathan denied the allegations and claimed his innocence.

State prosecutor Arif Satai contended that two eyewitnesses had identified Najeeb Pathan as an attacker during an identification parade and statements were recorded before a judicial magistrate, under Section 164 of the CrPC.

He added that the accused and his alleged absconding accomplices belonging to a political group resorted to aerial firing to terrorise the area residents, adding that the circumstantial, ocular and other evidence fully corroborated the prosecution’s case.

However, the defence counsel Sajjad Gul Khatri argued that his client was framed in a false case, adding that he had no role in the commissioning of the offence and pleaded to acquit him.

A case was registered under Section 302 (premeditated murder), 324 (attempt to murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of Moeezuddin at the Kharadar police station.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2019