Court acquits 3 murder cum dacoity accused

Rawalpindi     –   A division bench of the Lahore High Court on Tuesday acquitted three persons who were sentenced to death by a sessions court for murdering a shopkeeper during a dacoity in Asghar Mall Scheme in 2015.

Accepting their appeal, the bench, comprising Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan and Justice Sadiq Mehmood Khurram, decided to acquit the three convicts by giving them the benefit of doubt as the prosecution could not establish explicitly that they had committed the offence and the eyewitnesses could not be produced before the court during trial. Moreover, the division bench observed that “the police investigators had implicated the troika in a case which was not actually a dacoity and the cops had also shown fake recovery (cash), weapons and mobile phones during investigation.”

Advocate Raja Ghaneem Aabir Khan appeared before LHC Rawalpindi Bench and pleaded that his clients are innocent and had nothing to do with the crime. He also requested court to drop charges against his clients.  The three persons were identified as Sajjad Manzoor (who were sentenced to death by Sessions Judge), Jalal Javed alias Mian and Majid Manzoor (both were awarded life imprisonment).

On 31 July 2015, a gang of armed dacoits walked in a grocery store located at Asghar Mall Scheme and shot dead shopkeeper Muhammad Asif upon showing resistance. Banni police registered a case under charges of dacoity and murder and had arrested three persons Sajjad Manzoor, Majid Manzoor and Jalal Javed and produced them before Sessions Judge Rawalpindi.  The court of sessions Judge convicted the accused and granted one capital punishment and sent two others behind the bars for life on 23/9/2017.

Separately, a court of additional and session judge granted bail to a man Sagheer involved in torturing his ex-wife (who is a lady constable in Rawalpindi police). Banni police held Sagheer after filing a case against him on complaint of lady constable Sidra Ghulam Hussain who accused him of torturing her black and blue in bazaar.

Article source: https://nation.com.pk/23-Sep-2020/court-acquits-3-murder-cum-dacoity-accused