ATC puts two men guilty of kidnapping behind bars for life. PHOTO: FILE
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Wednesday sentenced two men to life in prison for kidnapping a government contractor for ransom and ordered them to forfeit their properties.
Jamal Said and Rambil were found guilty of kidnapping Muhammad Umer, a government contractor, for ransom within the jurisdiction of Daudzai police.
The order read by Judge Syed Asghar stated: “The prosecution has succeeded to prove its case without any reasonable doubt against the accused facing trial. The accused are therefore held guilty of abduction for ransom of abductee Muhammad Umer, therefore, they are convicted under Section 365-A of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 7 (e) Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997 and awarded punishment of life imprisonment. Their properties stand forfeited to state.”
It further read that a lesser punishment was awarded to the accused in view of absence of their past criminal history. This becomes possible under Section 382-B of the Criminal Procedure Code where the length of any sentence imposed upon an accused in respect of any offence shall be treated as reduced by the period during which he was detained in custody for the offence.
According to the order, sufficient evidence was available against two other men accused of the crime, Firdous and Sabir. The court declared them proclaimed offenders and a permanent warrant of arrest was issued against them.
In another case, the same court refused to grant post-arrest bail to a suspect involved in kidnapping a fifth grade student within the jurisdiction of Michni Gate.
The accused, Arif Shah, was arrested in Kohat and brought to Peshawar for the investigation.
The student’s statement was first recorded on June 3, 2013 and the second one was recorded on March 24 where he named the accused and others who had not been arrested. The accused was seeking post-arrest bail but it was turned down.
Saeedullah, the father of the child, had filed an FIR at Michni Gate police station under Section 365-A of the Pakistan Penal Code for kidnapping for ransom. His son Taveer Ali Shah, he said, was kidnapped on April 14, 2013.
The order read that as per Section 21-D of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 when the accused is found connected through plausible and sufficient evidence, the court cannot extend the concession of bail to him.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 27th, 2014.
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