Two more cases against Uzair Baloch result in acquittal

KARACHI: A sessions court on Tuesday acquitted Lyari’s suspected gangster Uzair Baloch in two more cases pertaining to arson and rioting after the prosecution could not present evidence against him.

Baloch, an alleged kingpin of the Lyari gang war and chief of the defunct Peoples Aman Committee, has been acquitted in 14 criminal cases in the past four months, while over four dozen cases against him are still pending.

The additional district & sessions judge (South), who conducted the trial at the judicial complex inside the Central Jail Karachi, exonerated the accused for want of evidence. The cases had been registered at the Kalakot and Kalri police stations against Baloch and others for allegedly committing the acts of arson and rioting in Lyari during a police crackdown on gangs in 2012. A prosecutor pursuing some of the cases against Baloch had told the judge during an earlier hearing that the witnesses were terrified to appear in court and depose against the accused because of his notoriety.