KARACHI   -   A sessions court has sentenced a street criminal to seven years of rigorous imprisonment for committing a robbery near Tariq Road.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Shahid Ali Memon convicted Musawir of robbing a citizen after recording evidence and hearing arguments from both sides.

Following the verdict, the judge directed police to take the convict into custody, as he had appeared in court on bail.

Regarding the co-accused Malook Abbas, the court declared him a proclaimed offender and directed that his case be kept on a dormant file.

In the detailed verdict, the judge observed: “The crime of robbery/dacoity is on the rise in Karachi. In such circumstances, releasing the accused due to minor or slight contradictions is not in the welfare of society; as such criminals have created terror in the city, causing many innocents to lose their lives.”

According to state prosecutor S Khursheed Bukhari, the complainant informed the police that on January 4, 2022, at midnight near Tariq Road, two persons approached him and snatched his mobile phone and cash at gunpoint before fleeing towards Jheel Park. However, a police party apprehended one of the street criminals, identified as Musawir, while his accomplice escaped from the scene. The police also recovered the looted cash and other valuables belonging to the complainant from the apprehended person.

During the trial, the accused denied the allegations, claiming that police had falsely implicated him. He alleged that on the day of the incident, he had gone to Liberty Chowk with his friend to buy clothes and admitted to using charas.

He further claimed that police had stopped him, found 12 to 15 grams of charas during a search, and then demanded a bribe. Upon refusal, he was implicated in the robbery case. The court, however, discarded his plea, finding his claims without substantial evidence.

The case was registered at the Ferozabad police station under Sections 397 (robbery) and 34 (common (intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code.