Man, juvenile sentenced to three years for robbery

KARACHI:

A district court sentenced on Wednesday a man and a juvenile to three years in prison after convicting them of committing robbery.

District East additional sessions judge Kamran Ata Soomro handed down the jail term to Abdul Hameed and Ismail Bengali as they were found guilty of being involved in street crime. According to the prosecution, the suspects were caught looting two people at gunpoint near Singer Chowrangi in Korangi Industrial Area on December 4, 2012.

A police team on patrol duty was informed about the incident and rushed to the spot. The suspects, upon seeing the police, opened fire and an encounter ensued. During the cross fire, Hameed received a bullet wound on his shoulder and fell to the ground while Ismail managed to escape. He was, however, nabbed a week later.

Hameed and Ismail were charged with dacoity, attempted murder and attacking law enforcers, while the latter was tried separately under the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance. During the trial, the suspects pleaded not guilty, asserting that they were falsely implicated in the case.

The evidence, which included the testimonies of those who were looted by the duo, proved the crime and led to the conviction. Meanwhile, the judge observed that the charges of attempted to murder and attacking law enforcers were not supported with sufficient evidence, therefore, the suspects were not found guilty of these two counts.

Hameed was also handed down another three years imprisonment for possessing an unlicenced weapon and was ordered to a pay a fine of Rs3,000.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 28^th,  2016.