KARACHI, Oct 27 A robbery accused facing trial for the past four years was convicted and ordered to be released when he entered a guilty plea on Monday.

Additional district and sessions judge (south) Irfan Hussain Siddiqui sentenced him to four years in prison and, because the accused had already served the term as an undertrial, ordered the jail authorities to release him forthwith.

The court was told that accused Sher Mohammad had robbed complainant Attaur Rahman of cash and cellular phone in the Kalri police limits in June 2004.

He was arrested shortly after the incident. The police registered a case (FIR No 91/2004) against him under Section 392 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The judge also slapped a fine of Rs1,000 on the convict. In case of non-payment of the fine, the accused would have to undergo an additional imprisonment of six months.

The judge ordered that the accused be released if he was not involved in any other case.

Meanwhile, the same court, after recording arguments from both sides, rejected the bail application of a murder case accused on Monday.

Accused Adil had requested the court in the bail plea to release him as he was a 'minor' and the prosecution did not have sufficient evidence against him.

Public prosecutor Abdul Maharoof opposed the plea and submitted that the accused was nominated in the first information report and eyewitnesses had testified to his involvement in the case. The prosecutor requested the court to reject the plea, arguing that there was no doubt regarding the age of the accused as the school certificate had shown his age to be about 22 years.

Man acquitted

An additional district and sessions court acquitted a suspect in an explosive substance case due to a lack of evidence.

Mufti Sanaullah was accused of attacking a rally of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement allegedly with explosives. The attack was said to have left around six party workers injured in the Sharifabad police limits on Sept 29, 2001.

The additional district and sessions judge-IV (central), Gulshan Ara Chandio, pronounced the judgment after recording final arguments from both sides.

According to the verdict, the prosecution failed to produce witnesses and other documentary evidence in court that could connect the accused with the offence. Since there was no probability of the conviction of the accused, he was being acquitted, the judge observed.

On the complaint of assistant sub-inspector Zafar Iqbal, a case (FIR No 126/2001) was registered against unidentified persons under Section 3/4 of the Explosive Act at Sharifabad police station.

The accused was arrested on May 5, 2005. During the course of interrogations, the investigation officer claimed, the accused had confessed to having attacked the rally.

Defence counsel Maqbool-ur-Rahman argued that his client was arrested and implicated in the case as part of a crackdown by police against religious persons. He submitted that the prosecution did not provide any evidence against his client despite the lapse of more than three years since his arrest.