Four get death sentence for killing dermatologist

HYDERABAD:

The Model Criminal Trial Court on Tuesday sentenced four men to death for kidnapping and killing notable dermatologist of Hyderabad, Dr Dharam Dev Rathi on March 7, 2023.

The first additional district and session judge Tasawur Ali pronounced the verdict of hanging the convicts twice to death besides slapping Rs1 million fine on each of the convict.

Haneef Laghari, Tanveer Bhutto, Qaim Bhutto and Manzoor Bhutto were produced before the judge at the time of the verdict after which they were sent to jail. However, one of the accused Raju alias Raja was acquitted on the basis of want of evidence. Abdul Salam Sehto, another accused, was declared as absconder.

The order read that Dr Rathi was an asset of the nation and his murder stirred strong reactions among a large segment of the society and the medical fraternity. According to the police investigation, the dermatologist was kidnapped from his clinic by his driver Haneef Laghari.

Laghari and his accomplices kept moving around the city in the car, threatening the doctor to disclose where he had kept his cash. Dr Rathi lived alone at his home in Citizen Colony where his body was found dumped there by the killers who escaped after the crime.