Robber handed down death penalty for killing man upon resistance

A sessions court on Friday handed down death penalty to a mugger for killing a trader upon resistance during a robbery bid in Gulshan-e-Maymar.

Shakeel Ahmed was found guilty of robbing and murdering Kamlesh Kumar near a farmhouse within the jurisdiction of the Gulshan-e-Maymar police station in June 2019. The Additional District and Sessions Judge-II (West) announced his order that had earlier been reserved after recording evidence and final arguments from both the defence and prosecution sides.

The judge observed that the prosecution had succeeded in proving its charges against the accused without any shadow of doubt, awarding him capital punishment for the murder.

"Accused Shakeel Ahmed [is] found responsible for the murder of deceased Kamlesh Kumar, therefore, he is convicted under Section 265-H(2) for an offense punishable Under Section 302 (b) of the PPC, hence he is sentenced of death and shall be hanged from his neck till he is dead, subject to the confirmation by Honourable high court of sindh," he ruled.

The court also handed down 14 years of rigorous imprisonment to the convict for robbery and ordered him to pay a fine of Rs100,000 or else undergo an additional six-month imprisonment.

According to the prosecution, the victim, Kumar, was going to a farmhouse with his friends on June 30, 2019, when the accused stopped the victim's car at gunpoint to rob them. Upon resistance, he shot and killed Kumar, it added.

The accused was arrested in an injured state after an encounter with the Gulshan-e-Maymar police in Gadap on July 14, 2019. He subsequently confessed to have killed the trader upon resistance.

An FIR was lodged under the sections 397 (robbery or dacoity, with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt) and 302 (murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) at the Gulshan-e-Maymar police station. According to the police, the accused had also allegedly killed another man, Abdul Hameed, during a robbery in 2017.