KARACHI: A sessions court has convicted two robbers and sentenced them total 42-year imprisonment.

Additional District and Sessions Judge (South) Shahid Ali Memon found Irfan and Kabeer guilty on six counts of street crimes and possessing illegal weapons within the jurisdiction of the Defence police station.

He pronounced the judgement after recording evidence and arguments from both sides.

The judge also imposed a fine of Rs20,000 on each convict for possessing an unlicensed weapon, with an additional one-month imprisonment in case of default.

The judge said the prosecution had succeeded in establishing the cases against the accused.

The police apprehended Irfan and Kabeer in DHA Phase VIII and during investigations, it transpired that the accused had already been nominated in multiple FIRs pertaining to street crimes in the Defence police station.

According to state prosecutor Pervaiz Hussain Solangi, the robbers, aged 25 to 26, targeted a shop, where they snatched a mobile phone and Rs60,000 at gunpoint.

In another incident, they snatched Rs100,000 and two mobile phones from a citizen, along with cash and valuables from others.

The prosecutor produced six witnesses to prove its case against the accused.

During the trial, he argued that the prosecution witnesses fully supported the evidence which was produced before the court. He asked the court to award maximum punishment to the accused.

The defence counsel argued that nothing had been recovered from their clients, adding that the police had already revealed the faces of the accused before conducting an identification parade.

The convicts were charged under Section 397 (robbery or dacoity, with an attempt to cause death or grievous hurt), 392 (punishment for robbery) and 34 (common intension) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 23 (a) of the Sindh Arms Act 2013.

Published in Dawn, April 7th, 2024