A division bench of the Lahore High Court on Monday suspended the conviction and sentence of a constable convicted in the Sialkot lynching case.
Constable Yaseen had been given a three-year prison sentence.
In 2010, two brothers, Hafiz Mughees and Muneeb, were killed by a mob in the presence of police and Rescue 1122 personnel in Buttar village, situated on the outskirts of Sialkot.
According to the prosecution, dozens of people beat the two brothers to death in public.
The trial court had awarded three-year sentences to seven police officials and District Police Officer Waqar Chohan on September 20, 2011 for criminal negligence.
The Lahore High Court ordered Constable Yaseen’s release on furnishing surety bonds of Rs100,000.
His counsel had said that the Supreme Court had held that a convict sentenced to less than five years in prison can be released on bail after suspension of his sentence.
The counsel also submitted that the applicant was not present at the crime scene and the complainant had implicated him in the case with malafide intention.
Yaseen’s counsel also said that his co-accused, former District Police Officer Waqar Chohan, and other police officials had already been released on bail after suspension of their sentences.
The high court bench accepted the petition and suspended Constable Yaseen’s sentence.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 1st, 2011.
COMMENTS (8)
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Some of those police officers should be imprisoned much longer than three years. But this constable's lawyer says he wasn't even there at the time. If this is correct, how can he be guilty? Also, there is a difference between suspending a sentence and staying execution of a sentence pending appeal. I wonder if the reporter knows that difference.
@German. In Pakistan, even if person is caught with enough eyewitnesses, even video camera
s, theyll all be released.The Lahore High Court needs to be renamed.
@german: You mean that a person is not punished for committing crime but for his stupidity to get caught. I agree.
What a shame. They should have been behind locks to set an example. What is 100000 any way. They , the protectors of society were mere spectators when the two innocents were being killed. Is this the kind of judiciary people fought for?
Always commit a crime when no witness is present. Be smart.
And this, Ladies & Gentlemen, is justice in Pakistan!
Not suspend but punished also.