NAUSHAHRO FEROZE, May 24: A judged of an Anti-Terrorism Court Mr Shahid Shafiq on Thursday awarded death sentence to three brothers and their relative in a case of murder of eight members of a family.

The judge announced the verdict after an inside trial in the Sukkur jail. He awarded seven times death sentence to Sikandar Ali, Nondo Jumo, Akbar Ali and Mohammad Jurial and imposed on them a fine of Rs100,000 each to be paid to the heirs of the deceased.

The accused, three of whom are still absconding, had invited Mohammad Safar Chandio, his brother Hakim Ali, Hakim’s wife Samul and daughter Jamzadi, 8, Hakim’s sons Mashooq, 32, Ashiq Ali, 27, Atif Ali, 12, and Deedar Ali, 7, to a dinner party at their home on May 19, 2004.

During the dinner, the hosts demanded hand of Hakim’s daughter Arbeli, a teenaged girl at that time, for Sikandar but the father refused and in revenge he killed all of them the very night after dinner.

He fired on them and also used axe and sticks to kill them.

The complainant Mohammad Safar Chandio escaped death because he and two other men locked themselves in a room from inside and then managed to escape on May 25.

The accused buried the bodies in the house’s courtyard. Safar lodged an FIR the same day and police recovered bodies and arrested four accused while three others managed to flee.

Hakim’s daughter Arbeli had eloped with Sikandar after getting her family killed. She was later arrested and confessed to her involvement in her family’ mass murder. Her case was separated from this one because of her tender age and she was sentenced to life imprisonment.