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Tuesday March 19, 2024

KP govt files appeal in Mashal Khan lynching case

By Akhtar Amin
February 22, 2018

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Wednesday filed appeals in the Peshawar High Court (PHC) in the Mashal Khan lynching case for conviction and punishment to the 26 acquitted accused persons and enhancement of sentence to those convicted.

It filed three appeals through Advocate General office in the PHC against the decision of the Anti-Terrorism Court, Abbottabad.

The state claimed that the trial court had committed a grave error and illegality by acquitting the 26 accused/respondents as a plethora of evidence was produced by the prosecution against them.

In the first appeal filed under section 25 of Anti-Terrorism Act against the acquittal of 26 accused, the state submitted before the high court that the trial court had acquitted the accused of the charges levelled against them and their co-accused have been found guilty and convicted in the Mashal murder case.

The appeal requested the high court to set aside the trial court’s decision to the extent of the acquittal of the accused and they may be convicted and sentenced under the various provisions of law.

In facts of the case, it was explained that SHO Police Station Sheikh Maltoon, Muhammad Saleem had received information that a large number of students of Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan entered the Journalism Department and agitated on the issue of derogatory and insulting remarks made by Mashal Khan, Abdullah and Zubair against the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him).

It was stated in the appeal that the police officials reached the spot and were busy in negotiation with the administration of the university and in the meanwhile, they received information that the enraged and infuriated students murdered Mashal Khan in Hostel No 1.

It said the complainant SHO along with the other police officials went to the spot and found the body of Mashal Khan.

“The accused/respondents along with the other convicted co-accused and absconding co-accused desecrated Mashal’s body after his murder. After doing the needful on the spot, the complainant SHO Saleem Khan drafted Murasila for registration of FIR which was filed at Sheikh Mattoon Police Stations,” it said. It added that after completion of the investigation in the case, challan was submitted against the respondents and the convicted co-accused and absconding co-accused, and charges were framed. It said the accused claimed innocence and agreed to face trial.

It said that the prosecution produced 51 witnesses before the learned trial court.

In grounds of the appeal, it was stated that the trial court had committed a grave error and illegality by acquitting the accused/respondents as plethora of evidence was produced by the prosecution against them.

It said that all the prosecution witnesses remained constant and their evidence was trustworthy and above board. It added this is the reason the same evidence was used against the co-accused to get their conviction.

“There is overwhelming evidence against the accused/respondents in shape of direct/circumstantial evidence which could be used for the conviction by the trial court; however, that has been totally ignored,” the state claimed in the appeal.

It pointed out that there is consistent statement of the prosecution witnesses which have been supported and corroborated by medical evidence, FSL report, blood stained articles, DNA and armed experts report and confession statement of some of the accused in the case.

It was claimed in the appeal that all the accused/respondents along with the co-accused, convicted and absconding have duly participated in the commission of offence and thus all of them be collectively held responsible as they have done the act with their common object after making unlawful assembly and hatching a conspiracy.

It was also stated that according to videos the accused severely tortured Mashal Khan inside and outside the hostel and announced having abused the body after gathering at the main gate and in the parking areas.

“The accused can be seen in all those videos at different spots. This has also been identified by FPSA in their report. But this important piece of evidence has not been considered by the trial court against the accused/respondents,” the appeal said.

The state in another appeal requested the high court to enhance the life imprisonment awarded by the trial court to five convicted persons to death penalty.

It was stated that three of the convicts, including Fazle Raziq, Mujeeb Ullah and Ashfaq Khan, were awarded life imprisonment on two counts and fined Rs200,000 each. Besides, two other convicts including Mudassir Bashir, a student leader, and Bilal Bakhsh, employed as a key punch operator at the university, were sentenced to life imprisonment on three counts, including murder, terrorism and hatching conspiracy.

In the third appeal, the state requested the high court to maintain the sentence of Imran Ali, who was awarded death sentence and also the 25 convicted persons sentenced to four years. The state also requested the court to award sentence to these accused in those provisions of law in which they were acquitted.