KARACHI: An antiterrorism court on Monday awarded death sentence to an accused for killing an undertrial prisoner on court premises to avenge the murder of his son.

Kifayatullah was found guilty of shooting to death 25-year-old Khushdil Khan on suspicion of having murdered his son, Ahsan Ali, in Malir in December 2016.

On Monday, the antiterrorism court-XVI judge pronounced his verdict.

The judge noted that the prosecution had proved the case against the 60-year-old accused beyond any shadow of doubt.

Suspect remanded in judicial custody in cyberstalking case

“The accused has murdered a UTP who was under trial, in the court premises, hence deserves no leniency,” the judge ruled.

The judge ruled that the direct evidence of the complainant, head constable Mohammad Mairaj, sub-inspector Moharram and an undertrial prisoner, who was handcuffed with the victim Khushdil at the time of the incident, also supported the medical evidence coupled with his arrest on the spot with the crime weapon, spent empties of the bullets as well as footage of the CCTV camera.

According to the prosecution, an undertrial prisoner, who was arrested on charges of killing a teenager around four years before, was shot at and critically wounded by the victim’s father, Kifayatullah, at a Malir court before his hearing on Dec 14, 2020.

State prosecutors Mohammad Raza and Ghulam Murtaza Maitlo contended that the police head constable Mairaj had brought the undertrial prisoner, Khushdil, for his appearance before an additional district and sessions judge (Malir) in connection with the alleged murder of the son of Kifayatullah.

They added that as HC Mairaj along with UTP Khushdil waited outside the courtroom for their turn to be called by the judge, when Kifayatullah appeared there, he pulled out a gun and opened fire, injuring the latter.

The undertrial prisoner had suffered bullet wounds to the head and face and was rushed to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, where he died, the prosecutors said.

Defence counsel Abid Zaman contended that there were lacunae in the prosecution’s case, which put dents in the case leading to suspicions and doubts, benefit of which must go to the accused as per universal law.

Finally, the counsel argued that the crime alleged against his client did not fall within the category of terrorism, thus these highlighted contradictions in the evidence created serious doubts in the case. Therefore, he pleaded to the court to acquit his client of the allegations.

Suspect remanded in judicial custody

A local court on Monday remanded in judicial custody a man held for allegedly harassing a woman and publishing her objectionable pictures on social media.

The suspect was arrested for his alleged involvement in cyber­­stalking, harassment and pub­lication of some indecent pic­tures of the victim on social media.

On Monday, the investigating officer produced the suspect before the judicial magistrate (East) on expiry of his physical remand in the custody of the Federal Investigation Agency and requested it to extend the same for further interrogation.

However, the judge remanded the suspect in judicial custody with the direction to the IO to produce him in court on the next date with an investigation report.

Earlier, the court was informed that the complainant had alleged that the suspect possessed some indecent pictures of the victim and on the basis of such pictures, he used to blackmail and harass her.

Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2021