Justice served: Three convicted of kidnapping for ransom

The convicts had kidnapped a teenager from Stadium Road

KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) sentenced on Friday three men to 10 years in prison in a kidnapping for ransom case.

According to the prosecution, the convicts - Moeez, Owias and Kazim - had kidnapped a teenager, Ismail, on November 22, 2010, from Stadium Road when he was returning home from university. The kidnappers had demanded Rs100million as ransom for the captive's release. However, after negotiations over the phone, the ransom amount was settled at Rs615,000.

They were arrested eight days after the abduction while receiving the ransom money. The captive was rescued on the spot while illicit weapons were seized from the suspects.

The ATC-II also imposed a fine of Rs205,000 on each of the three convicts, failing which they would undergo an additional jail term of one year.

Meanwhile, Moeez and Owais were also found guilty of possessing unlicensed weapons and were sentenced separately to seven years in jail. Three FIRs were registered against them at the Aziz Bhatti police station under Sections 365-A (kidnaping or abducting for extortion) and 34 (common intent) of the Pakistan Penal Code, read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act and Section 23(1)A of the Sindh Arms Act.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 20^th, 2014.