Murder convicts’ jail term reduced over absence of motive, weapon

A model court on Wednesday sentenced two men to 17 years in prison each for their involvement in a murder case dating back to 2011.

Muhammad Nasir and Ramzan alias Baboo Katchi were found guilty of killing Gul Hassan, who was fatally shot at his cattle pen within the jurisdiction of the Aziz Bhatti police station in November 2011.

On May 26, 2017, the Additional District and Sessions Judge-VI had awarded rigorous imprisonment for life to both convicts, who subsequently challenged their convictions in the Sindh High Court.

In February 2019, the SHC set aside their sentences and remanded the case back to the trial court with a direction to record the statements of the accused afresh and decide the case within one month.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Abdul Zahoor Chandio of the Model Criminal Trial Court (East) announced his order which he had reserved after recording statements of the accused and final arguments from both sides.

He noted that the prosecution successfully proved that the accused in the furtherance of common intention committed the murder of Gul Hassan by way of firing. Both convicts were sentenced to 17 years of rigorous imprisonment and ordered paying Rs500,000 each as compensation to the legal heirs of the deceased. This compensation would be recovered as arrears of land revenue, and in case of default in payment, both individuals would undergo an additional six months of simple imprisonment, the court said.

The judge extended the benefit of Section 382-B of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) to the convicts, which allows for the deduction of time spent in detention since their arrest from their overall sentence.

He explained that the reason for not awarding the death penalty to the accused was the prosecution’s failure to establish a clear motive for the incident and the absence of the murder weapon, creating strong mitigating circumstances to award lesser punishment to the accused persons.

The judge remanded the convicts to prison to serve the remainder of their sentences. As for the three absconding accused—Razzaq, Rizwan Baloch, and Amjad—their case was separated, and proceedings will commence upon their arrest or surrender.

State prosecutor Muhammad Ashraf Bhatti contended that in November 2011, the complainant, Muhammad Ali, was at home, while his brother, Gul Hassan, was busy at their nearby cattle pen. He stated that he suddenly heard the sound of gunfire and rushed outside his house, hurrying to the cattle enclosure, where he found his younger brother, Gul Hassan, lying on the ground, critically injured.

On seeing the complainant, the attackers escaped. He said the brother was rushed to hospital but succumbed to injuries. An FIR lodged under sections 302 (premeditated murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).