KARACHI, May 30: An additional district and sessions judge, East, on Friday sentenced a policeman guilty of killing one of his colleagues to life imprisonment.

The judge, Abdul Rahman Bhatti, who was conducting the trial, announced the verdict after recording final arguments.

The court also imposed a fine amounting to Rs50,000 on the convict, Khursheed Ahmed, and also directed him to pay Rs50,000 to the heirs of the deceased as compensation. In case of non-payment of the fine and the compensation money, the convict would have to undergo an additional six months imprisonment on each count.

The judgment said that the prosecution had successfully proved its case against the policeman, Khursheed Ahmed. Five prosecution witnesses, including some eyewitnesses, testified in the case.

The prosecution said that on March 27, 1994 Khursheed Ahmed, son of Mohammad Ayub, had a brawl with Ghulam Mustafa, a head muharrir, at the Landhi police station and afterwards the convict opened fire on Mustafa. The injured policeman was taken to hospital but wounds proved to be fatal.

The convict was arrested immediately after the incident.

The police had registered a case (FIR No 73/94) under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code against Khursheed Ahmed on the complaint of the deceased’s brother, Ghulam Murtaza, at the Landhi police station. The convict spent five years in jail. Later, he was released on bail.

Acquitted

An additional district and sessions judge, West, acquitted two brothers in a murder case saying that the prosecution failed to produce sufficient evidence in court.

According to the prosecution, Mohammad Ramzan, his brother, Mohammad Kamran, both real estate dealers by profession, along with their associates, Rizwan and Naeem Akthar, had severely manhandled Ghulam Fareed on December 28, 2003 in Saeedabad area over a dispute pertaining to the seal of some plots. The injured was taken to the Civil Hospital but he succumbed to his injuries. The deceased was also a property dealer.

The police had registered a case at the Mochko police station under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of the deceased’s brother, Mazhar Hussain. The police had booked the accused, Ramzan and Kamran, on January 7, 2004. Rizwan and Naeem Akthar had been declared absconders in the case.

Land scam

The judge of the accountability court-I, Syed Aley Maqbool Rizvi, adjourned till June 12 the hearing of a reference pertaining to a land scam against the deputy inspector-general (DIG) of the Sindh police, Altaf Hussain Bhatti, and others.

On Dec 4, 2007, the NAB, Sindh, had arrested the DIG for misusing his authority to acquire more than 500 acres of government land in Thatta district. Later, the DIG was remanded in judicial custody.

A reference (No 59/2007) was filed against him by the NAB accusing the DIG of illegally transferring pieces of land under fake names and later on getting them allotted to himself, his family members and other relatives. Ali Ahmed Bhatti, Usman Memon, Noor Ali, Mohammad Hussain, Usman G. Memon, Hanni Ram and Mr. Thain are the co-accused in the case while three other accused in the same case have died. The court will indict the accused in the land scam case on the next date of hearing.

Fines imposed

The special judge of the federal anti-corruption and emigration, Central, Shaukat Ali Memon, imposed a fine of Rs3,000 each on 19 Pakistanis including Mohammad Shafiq, Mohammad Ramzan, Mir Hussain, Mazar Khan and others after finding them guilty of illegally entering Muscat via Iran-Muscat border. In case of non-payment of the fine they would have to undergo 25-day imprisonment.

The FIA anti-human trafficking circle had detained the deportees upon their arrival at the Karachi airport and had registered cases against them under the Emigration Ordinance.