Justice served: Man gets death sentence in double murder case

Suspect found guilty of killing two brothers four years ago

KARACHI: A district and sessions court sentenced on Wednesday a suspect to death, while acquitting his father, in a double murder case registered against them four years ago.

The East district's additional sessions judge-IV awarded capital punishment to Bilal after he was found guilty of murdering Haji Zaman Umar, Sultan Umar and injuring their nephew, Faisal, in a shooting incident outside their house in Zia Colony, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, on April 3, 2012. However, the court found the convict's father, Hannan, innocent and acquitted him.

Hannan and his five sons, Bilal, Ibrahim, Sadam, Asghar and Yusuf, were booked for killing Zaman and Sultan and for wounding their nephew. According to the prosecution, Ibrahim had a monetary dispute with Zaman. Four days before the murder, Ibrahim had gone to Zaman's house, where they fought over the issue. The fight was disrupted when neighbours intervened.

According to the charge sheet, on the night of the incident, Bilal, his brothers and father attacked the victims outside their house. Some of the assailants were riding on motorcycles while the others were in a black car. Zaman died on the spot, while the two other victims were wounded, the prosecution said. Faisal was rushed to a nearby hospital, while Sultan succumbed to his injuries on way to Jinnah hospital.

According to the investigating officer, Hannan and Bilal were arrested after an encounter near Crown Cinema. He said that the police, acting on a tip-off, chased the suspects' car in which they were fleeing to move to a safe house in Machhar Colony.

The father and son were arrested, while others managed to flee, he added. During the trial, the court examined the testimonies of the eye witnesses, who were present at the crime scene. They deposed against the accused but could not confirm that Hannan accompanied the assailants at the time of the commission of the offense.

In his verdict, the judge, Inam Ali Kalhoro, observed that the prosecution successfully proved Bilal's guilt. Therefore, he was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Zaman and Sultan. He was also given a five-year jail term for injuring Faisal. The convict was directed to pay compensation of Rs200,000 to each of the legal heirs of the deceased and a fine of Rs10,000 to the state.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 18^th, 2016.