Peshawar court sentences senior police officer to life imprisonment

By: Kamran Ali Shah
PESHAWAR: Peshawar court on Thursday sentenced  a police officer to life imprisonment for murdering his wife and attempting to kill his children
A Peshawar Additional Sessions Judge sentenced former ASI Raza Ali to life imprisonment for murdering his wife and attempting to kill his daughter, Saima Ali, and son, Daniyal Abbas. The court also ordered the accused to pay Rs 20 million in compensation to the affected children.
According to the prosecution, the accused opened fire during a domestic dispute with his wife, as she wanted to take up a job due to financial difficulties. As a result of the firing, the wife died on the spot, while both the children were injured; however, they managed to save their lives with timely medical assistance.
The plaintiff’s lawyer, Advocate Noman Mohib Kakakhel, while arguing in the court, said that the accused was strongly against his wife working and due to this, there were frequent quarrels between them, after which he started living separately and took one of his young daughters with him. On the day of the incident, the girl returned home through her siblings, to whom the accused got angry and opened fire indiscriminately when he came home.
Advocate Kakakhel further said: “The accused deliberately opened fire with the intention of killing his wife and children. The statements of witnesses, medical records and forensic evidence proved his guilt.”
The court also recorded that the accused confessed to the crime before the judicial magistrate and said that he was under the influence of hashish at the time of the incident. However, this statement was also consistent with the medical and eyewitness evidence, which further strengthened the case.
After hearing all the evidence and the arguments of the lawyers, the court sentenced the accused to life imprisonment and fixed a compensation of Rs 20 million for the children.