Justice served: Doctor’s extortionists jailed for five years

Public prosecutor said the men had been identified by complainant inside court and were arrested red-handed.

KARACHI:

Two men have been sentenced to five years in prison and fined Rs10,000 each for extorting money from a doctor in Karachi.

After several weeks of court hearings, Mohammad Asif alias Dada and Javed were handed jail terms by the Anti-Terrorism Court III on Saturday. If the men do not pay the fine, a three-month sentence will be added on to their punishment.

On August 19, 2011, the police had arrested Asif near the Baghdadi crossing. He then called Javed for a meeting at Boat Basin so that the police could nab his accomplice as well.

The accused had sent an extortion slip demanding Rs200,000 from a doctor and had already collected Rs20,000 from him when they were arrested. At an earlier hearing, the court had been told that the men were allegedly associated with the gangs of Lyari.

In his final arguments on Saturday, the public prosecutor said that the two men had been identified by the complainant inside court while the accused were arrested red-handed with the extorted money.

In the verdict, the judge also stated that the jail time the men have already served should be considered part of their sentence. They will serve the rest of their term at the central prison.

From 2007 to 2011, there have been 37 convictions and 48 acquittals in the Anti-Terrorism Court III. The judgement was made under sections of Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 and Pakistan Penal Code, which allow punishments between one and 10 years.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 7^th, 2012.