Two jailed for seven years in street crime case

A sessions court has awarded seven-year imprisonment each to two street criminals in a robbery case. Noor Muhammad and Arbaz, alias Abbas, were found guilty of robbing a citizen in the Landhi area in March 2023.

Additional Sessions Judge East Shahid Ali Memon ruled that the prosecution had succeeded in establishing the charge against the accused persons without any shadow of doubt. “The testimony of the witnesses, supported by corroborative evidence and investigative findings, convincingly implicates the accused persons in the commission of the crime,” he observed.

In his detailed verdict, the judge noted: “Nowadays, the crime of robbery/dacoity is on rise in Karachi, and in such circumstances, release of accused, due to minor or slight contradictions is not in the welfare of the society, as such criminals have created terror in the city, due to which, many innocents have even lost their lives.”

Both the convicts, who appeared on bail, were taken into custody and remanded to jail for serving out the sentence. Additionally, one of the accused, Noor, was sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment for possessing an unlicensed pistol. He was also ordered to pay a Rs20,000 fine or else undergo an additional one-month imprisonment.

According to the prosecution, on March 27, 2023, Assistant Sub-Inspector Khalid Hussain, along with his subordinates, was busy in routine patrol when he saw a mob of people maltreating two suspected robbers in the Landhi area.

A person, Muhammad Ali, came to the police party stating that the robbers had stolen his wallet containing Rs200 cash, after which he, along with locals, managed to catch them. The police took the accused into their custody and upon search, robbed articles were recovered from their possession. One unlicensed pistol was also recovered from the possession of Noor.

An FIR was lodged at the Landhi police station against the two accused under the sections 397 (robbery or dacoity, with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code. A separate FIR was registered against Noor under the Section 23(i)(A) of the Sindh Arms Act.