Three muggers who snatched Rs3m from man get life in jail

A sessions court on Monday sentenced three muggers to life imprisonment in a robbery case. Mohammad Imran, alias Aman, Muhammad Shahid, alias Saqib, and Mehar Khan, alias Umair, were found guilty of snatching Rs3 million in cash from a citizen at gunpoint after he withdrew the money from a bank within the jurisdiction of the Shah Faisal Colony police station in August 2022.

Additional Sessions Judge (East) Shahid Ali Memon also convicted the accused of possessing unlicensed weapons. He ruled that the prosecution succeeded in establishing the case against the accused beyond any shadow of doubt, sentencing them to life imprisonment for the offence punishable under the Section 395 (dacoity) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The convicts were also ordered to pay a fine of Rs100,000 each and in case of failure to pay the fine, they would have to undergo an additional three-month imprisonment.

The judge further awarded seven-year imprisonment to the accused and imposed a Rs20,000 fine on them on the charge of possessing illicit arms. Shahid and Mehar, who turned up on bail, were subsequently taken into custody and remanded to the prison to serve out the prison. Imran appeared in the court via video link from the prison.

"I would also like to say that nowadays the street crimes are so common in Karachi, the culprits rob/loot the hard-earned amount and articles from the victims on gunpoint, as a result, it not only shatters the victim but also his family," the judge observed. "The people usually avoid resisting with the culprits, as they know that the culprits have no heart, they would not think for a single second and will kill them on the spot." The judge observed that the culprits had become so cruel that they did not care about the victims and the aftermath of the robbery. "In this regard, I say that such offences are not less than any heinous offence in the age of inflation in daily commodities. Therefore, the real culprits should not be acquitted only on the basis of minor contradictions that have come on record," he added.

According to state prosecutor S Khursheed Bukhari, on August 1, 2022, complainant Javed Ahmed withdrew Rs1.6 million cash from a bank in Shamsi Society near Wireless Gate. He already had Rs1.4 million in his car. Two men on a motorcycle intercepted him near Baba Fareed Railway Line in Green Town, and robbed him of Rs3 million and his licenced 9mm pistol with two magazines having 14 bullets.

The prosecutor further mentioned that the two suspects, along with their four accomplices who stood at a distance, sped away with the looted cash. Imran, Shahid and Mehar were arrested while their three accomplices Tanzeem Khan, Salman Khan, and Fakhar Iqbal were declared absconders. He said unlicensed pistols were also recovered from the possession of the accused.

Separate FIRs were lodged under the Section 395 (punishment for dacoity) of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 25(a)(i) of the Sindh Arms Act at the Shah Faisal Colony police station.