SHC dismisses appeals of two convicts against life terms in kidnapping for ransom case

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday dismissed the appeal of two convicts against life imprisonment in a case pertaining to kidnapping for ransom.

Mohammad Ayub and Bakht Ali were sentenced to life imprisonment by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) for kidnapping Takreemul Haq, Mohammad Faizan and Mohammad Shariq on February 2, 2014, and demanding a ransom for their release.

According to the prosecution, the appellants along with others had kidnapped the three persons and demanded Rs7 million and 40 Tola gold for their release. The abductees were recovered by the Rangers during a raid near the Super Highway.

A counsel for the appellants said that their clients were falsely implicated in the case and there were glaring irregularities in the identification parade of the appellants by the judicial magistrate. The lawyer sought acquittal of the appellants.

An additional prosecutor general, however, supported the trial court judgment and contended that the abducted persons had identified the appellants who had kept them captives and demanded ransom for their release.

A division bench of the SHC headed by Justice Mohammad Karim Khan Agha after hearing the arguments of the counsel observed that the abducted men were kept in captivity for 16 days and the appellants guarded them and were involved in making the ransom demand.

The bench observed that the prosecution had proved its case against the appellants beyond any reasonable doubt and testimonies of the witnesses could not be discarded due to some contradictions as they were not material enough to effect the prosecution case.

The high court observed that it did not find that some technical defects had dented the prosecution case and dismissed the appeals.