ATC sentences two men to life in prison for kidnapping for ransom, murder

An anti-terrorism court has sentenced two men to life imprisonment in an eight-year-old kidnapping for ransom and murder case.

Khalid Morio and Pervaiz Ali were convicted for the abduction and subsequent murder of 12-year-old Rafiq for ransom within the jurisdiction of the Bin Qasim police station in April 2016. They were also found guilty of later abducting Rafiq’s mother, Naseeban, and his brother, Shafiq.

Two co-accused – Allah Bux and Asghar Ali – were acquitted for want of evidence. The ATC-XX judge, who conducted the trial in the judicial complex inside the central prison, pronounced the judgement reserved after recording evidence and final arguments from both sides.

He handed down life imprisonment to the convicts on two counts for the abduction of Rafiq with the intention of ransom and later his mother and brother. Additionally, accused Khalid was awarded life imprisonment for the murder of the boy.

The judge ordered both the convicts to pay a collective fine of Rs1.5 million or undergo additional imprisonment. He also ordered forfeiture of their properties as required under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

State prosecutor Iqbal Meo contended that on April 4, 2016, complainant Nadeem Kolachi’s 12-year-old son, Rafiq, went missing after he went out to run an errand. The complainant subsequently received a threatening phone call from an unknown person, after which he lodged a kidnapping case at the Bin Qasim police station, he said.

He said the kidnapped boy’s father later received a ransom demand of Rs500,000 from a different mobile number, warranting the inclusion of Section 365-A (kidnapping or abducting for extorting property, valuable security, etc.) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) in the case.

The prosecutor stated that on July 2, 2016, upon Nadeem Kolachi’s return home, he discovered his wife, Naseeban, and 11-year-old son, Shafiq, missing, suspecting that they had also fallen victim to the same perpetrators who kidnapped Rafiq.

He said on July 8, 2016, Khalid Morio and Pervaiz Ali were arrested, leading to the recovery of Naseeban and Shafiq from Sindh’s Mehar city. Morio confessed to Rafiq’s murder and disclosed the location of the crime scene, where a slipper belonging to the victim was found, he added.

Khalid recorded a confessional statement under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code, admitting guilt for kidnapping, murdering, and disposing of Rafiq’s body, the prosecution further mentioned.