An anti-terrorism court in Karachi on Monday sentenced to death two police officers who were working as guards and drivers of the former chief of police’s Anti-Car Lifting Cell (ACLC). Teenager Intezar Ahmed murdered In a “planned encounter” in the city’s Defense Housing Authority neighborhood in 2018.
The ATC judge found police constables Bilal Rashid and Mohammad Daniyal guilty of shooting dead 19-year-old Intezaar, who was then posted as the gunman and driver of former ACLC chief (now DIG) Muqaddas Haider.
The court also sentenced six other ACLC officers to life imprisonment, including the then station house officer Tariq Mehmood, former inspectors Tariq Rahim and Azhar Ahsan, then head constable Shahid Usman and former constables Ghulam Abbas and Fawad Khan.
A seventh accused, Ghulam Abbas – another former head constable, was acquitted for lack of evidence.
Intezaar studying in Malaysia had returned to Pakistan for a holiday.
He was traveling in his car with a friend Madiha Kayani on January 13, 2018, when policemen in plain clothes followed his car and shot him at the DHA after failing to stop the vehicle on the instructions of the police . Kayani had managed to escape from the spot by boarding a rickshaw.
“I am satisfied that the killers of my son have been sentenced to death. It has been proved that both the accused shot dead my son.” don.com After hearing the order pronounced by the ATC-VII Judge, who conducted the trial in the judicial complex inside the Central Jail.
“But when the punishment given to the accused is carried out, justice will be done in full,” Ahmed said.
A few months after Intezaar’s murder, Kayani, in a video statement that went viral on social media, said, appealed To provide his security to Rangers and other law enforcement agencies.
In July this year, the court had reserved its verdict after recording evidence and final arguments from the defense and prosecution.
All the undertrial policemen were charged on May 15, 2018 for the murder of the student. During the hearing, the prosecution examined about 20 witnesses.
A ballistics expert confirmed that the official weapons of ACLC personnel were used in the killing.
In their statements recorded under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code, all the accused denied the charges against them and claimed to be innocent.
The killing of Intezar was initially dubbed an act of targeted murder by the police, but after a few days, it was revealed that ACLC officials were involved.
The investigating officer of the case had initially filed a charge sheet against nine officers.
The IO later released former head constable Ghulam Abbas saying that he was not present at the spot, but the court took cognizance of the matter and also initiated a trial against him.
A case has been registered under sections 302 (premeditated murder), 324 (attempt to murder), 109 (incitement) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with section 7 (punishment for acts of terrorism) of the Anti-Terrorism Act had gone. In 1997 at Darkhshan police station on the complaint of the victim’s father.