Man gets death for murdering wife, brother-in-law over children’s custody

A model court on Thursday sentenced a man to death for the murder of his wife and brother-in-law over a dispute involving the custody of children.

Bakht Buland, along with his absconding younger brother Yousuf Rehman, was found guilty of shooting to death his wife Zaibun Nisa and brother-in-law Muhammad Haroon and injuring another brother-in-law Muhammad Anwar at their residence in Patel Para within the Jamshed Quarters police remits in December 2021.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Abdul Zahoor Chandio of the Model Criminal Trial Court (East) pronounced his order after recording evidence and final arguments from both prosecution and defence sides.

He ruled that the prosecution successfully proved its case against accused Bakht Buland, who acted in the furtherance of common intention with his absconding brother Yousuf and committed the murder of Zaibun Nisa and Muhammad Haroon by way of firing and also injured Muhammad Anwar.

The judge awarded the capital punishment to Bakht Buland for the offence punishable under Section 302 (murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code. He was told to pay Rs1 million as compensation to the legal heirs of the deceased. The judge handed down a collective sentence of 17-year imprisonment to the convict on charges of attempted murder and causing injury to Anwar.

The convict was ordered to Rs100,000 as compensation to the injured. Additionally, he was awarded ten-year imprisonment and a Rs50,000 fine for possessing an unlicensed pistol. In case of failure to pay the compensation as well as the fine, the convict would have to undergo additional imprisonment. The death sentence is to subject confirmation by the Sindh High Court.

The judge awarded the convict’s friend, Babar Khan, seven-year imprisonment for offence punishable under Section 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender) of the PPC.

State prosecutor Muhammad Ashraf Bhatti contended that accused Bakht was engaged in a dispute with his wife Zaibun Nisa over the custody of children. On December 13, 2021, he said the accused and his younger brother Yousuf Rehman came to her residence, and opened fire on her and her brother Anwar in a fit of rage. Yousuf also fired shots at Haroon while escaping, he added.

Zainbun Nisar and Haroon later died during treatment, the prosecutor mentioned. He said that Babar facilitated the accused persons in the commission of the offence.

Bhatti argued that the ocular, medical as well as forensic evidence fully supported the prosecution case, requesting the judge to punish the accused as per the law.

On the other hand, the defene counsel claimed that the accused were innocent and had falsely been implicated in the case because Bakhat’s dispute with his in-laws. Two FIRs were lodged at the Jamshed Quarters police station under sections 302 (murder), 324 (attempted murder), 337-F (hurting person) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 24 of the Sindh Arms Act.