Alleged gang members given life sentence for killing Rangers man

Court also hands down 10 years in prison to both the accused for the offence of attempted murder

KARACHI:

Two suspected members of a Lyari-based gang were sentenced on Saturday to life imprisonment in a case pertaining to the murder of a paramilitary soldier.

Shahzad Khaskheli and Abdul Rahim Baloch, said to be associated with one of the several criminal gangs operating in Lyari, were found guilty of killing Rangers personnel, Madad Ali, and injuring sub-inspector Muhammad Siddiq in December 2011 in Arambagh.

Convicting them on Saturday, the ATC-III judge, Saleem Raza Baloch, also imposed a fine of Rs500,000 on each of them. In case of default, the convicts will undergo an additional two years imprisonment.



Moreover, the court handed down 10 years in prison to both the accused for the offence of attempted murder, but ruled that both sentences would run concurrently.

The prosecution had alleged that both the personnel were on patrolling duty in Arambagh on December 29 when the assailants opened fire at them and rode away.

The police arrested the accused in August 2012 in Lyari after a shootout and found illicit weapons in their custody. During questioning, they disclosed their involvement in the murder case.



The prosecution argued that the injured paramilitary official had identified both the accused before a judicial magistrate as well as before the trial court while a forensic report had found that the weapons found in their possession were used in the crime.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 1^st, 2015.