Man jailed for killing policeman while attempting to evade arrest

A model court has awarded a collective sentence of 12 years in prison to an alleged drug peddler for killing a policeman in an attempt to flee arrest in 2021.

Shah Asad was found guilty of killing Constable Mir Muhammad by dragging him with his car in a bid to escape as police attempted to arrest him in the Defence Housing Authority. Additional Sessions Judge Abdul Hafeez Lashari of the Model Criminal Trial Court (South) observed that while the prosecution established that the act of Asad resulted in the death of the constable, certain mitigating circumstances arose from the overall evidence that deserved judicial consideration.

"The most significant mitigating aspect is the lack of direct intent to kill," he noted, adding that as per the prosecution witnesses, the accused reversed his vehicle in a rash and reckless manner in an attempt to flee the scene.

"There is no evidence or statement suggesting that the accused deliberately targeted the deceased or had any personal motive or pre-existing enmity with him. The CCTV footage further supports that PC Mir Muhammad was standing and talking on the phone and was not in active attempt to stop the accused from fleeing. This appears to be a consequence of reckless reversal, not a deliberate and aimed act of murder," the judge said.

The court sentenced the convict to eight-year imprisonment and ordered him to pay diyat of Rs8.1 million to the legal heirs of the deceased constable for the offence punishable under the Section 320 (qatl-i-khata by rash or negligent driving) of the Pakistan Penal Code

It awarded two-year imprisonment to the accused for offence punishable under the Section 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) of the PPC and another two years imprisonment for offence punishable under the Section 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees).

He was also ordered to pay a fine of Rs100,000 or undergo additional imprisonment. The high court, however, acquitted the accused in a separate case pertaining to the recovery of ice. According to State Prosecutor Shakeel Ahmed Abbasi, on January 18, 2021, the Gizri police arrested Nawaz after 150 grammes of ice was recovered from his possession. He said that during interrogation, the accused confessed to the crime and expressed willingness to help police arrest alleged drug supplier, Asad.

Subsequently, a police team accompanied the accused to Touheed Commercial Street No. 26, in DHA, where he called his supplier to meet him, the prosecutor said, adding that the alleged drug peddler arrived in a car, but upon seeing the police, attempted to flee by reversing at high speed in a reckless and negligent manner. He struck Constable Mir Muhammad and dragged him for some distance, causing serious injuries to him.

Abbasi said that the suspect's car was also severely damaged, due to which he tried to escape on foot but was apprehended by the police. The constable succumbed to his injuries while being transported to hospital.

The police recovered 200 grammes of crystal meth (commonly known as ice) from the suspect’s vehicle, the prosecutor added. The defence counsel said that the accused was innocent and had falsely been implicated in the case by the police.