Two get 26 years in prison for murdering man in 2014

A district & sessions judge on Saturday sentenced two men accused of murdering a man five years ago to a collective 26 years in prison.

The District East’s additional sessions judge Haleem Ahmed awarded the punishment to Baaz Muhammad and Sher Muhammad Khan after finding them guilty of the murder of Ghulam Rabbani.

According to the prosecution, the accused men as well as their accomplices, who were declared absconders, had attacked a shop within the jurisdiction of the Korangi Industrial Area police station on August 2, 2014.

As a result of the firing during the attack, Rabbani got injured and died during treatment at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre. In his order, the judge observed that the prosecution had successfully established its case against the accused, while they failed to prove their innocence.

After the pronouncement of the verdict, the two men who had been out on bail were taken into custody and remanded to the central prison for serving their sentences.

Misbehaviour

A woman who was booked for misbehaving with traffic police officials in the upmarket Defence Housing Authority neighbourhood approached a District South court seeking bail before arrest.

She also moved an application in the court seeking the recovery of the car that had been impounded by the police. The court, however, rejected the application after the observation that it should be filed before the relevant judicial magistrate.

The court issued notices to the prosecution’s lawyer as well as the police to file their arguments on the bail plea moved by the woman on December 4.

Cross-examination

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) recorded the cross-examination by the defence lawyers of the complainant against former federal petroleum minister Dr Asim Hussain and others in a case pertaining to the alleged sheltering of criminals at the Ziauddin hospitals.

Deputy Superintendent of Rangers Inayatullah Durrani, who had lodged the relevant FIR, had testified before the ATC judge in a previous hearing. After recording his statement, the court had issued notices to the defence lawyers to proceed with the cross-examination.

After recording the cross-examination, the court adjourned the hearing until December 21. The defence lawyers will continue with the cross-examination on the date fixed for the next hearing.

Dr Hussain was arrested from his office by the Rangers in August 2015. Back then he had been serving as chairman of the Sindh Higher Education Commission. He was taken into a 90-day preventive detention and later booked in a case. He is currently out on bail.

During the hearing, Pak Sarzameen Party President Anis Kaimkhani, former commerce & industries minister Rauf Siddiqui of the MQM and other accused also appeared in court. Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar, however, sought condonation on medical grounds from appearing before the court.