The defense challenges the absence of eyewitnesses, the convict’s confession under police torture
HYDERABAD:
The trial against the brutal murder of the famous Sindhi poet Dr. Allah Bux alias Akash Ansari culminated in less than a year when the judge sentenced his stepson to death.
The Model Criminal Trial Court-I in Hyderabad sentenced Shah Lateef Ansari to death after finding him guilty of brutally killing his foster father and then setting his body on fire on February 15, 2025 at their rented residence in Hyderabad.
“It is worth mentioning here that there is no direct eyewitness account of the incident,” stressed the order, given by 1st Additional Sessions Judge Tasawar Ali.
“Nevertheless, I rely on last seen evidence – a chain of incriminating circumstances which, when considered together, point unmistakably to the guilt of the accused.”
Dr. Ansari had sustained 21 stab wounds, according to the autopsy report prepared by Medico Legal Officer Dr. Abdul Hameed Mughal. The poet’s death was caused by hemorrhaging and damage to vital organs such as lungs and not the fire that had burned his body and his bedroom.
Lateef, meanwhile, had pleaded not guilty. His counsel, Advocate Suhail Rajput, had argued during the hearings that Lateef’s confessional statement before Civil Judge and Magistrate Abdul Qadir Khoso was recorded under duress because he was subjected to torture in police custody. He further claimed that there was no eyewitness to the incident and no independent witness has been cited in the case either.
The police have based their case on circumstantial evidence. weak and conflicting medical and forensic materials, he said. “The case, which the defendant made, names [to Rescue 1122] instead of putting out fire is not in itself proof of murder,” he added. He also cited the reluctance of Mera, sister, to record her statement in court as a weakness of the prosecution’s case. Lateef was an adopted son of Dr Ansari, but Meera was his real daughter.
The lawyer also challenged the police claim that Lateef was a drug addict and questioned what medical and psychological treatment was provided to the accused in the police and jail?
However, the judge stated in the ruling that the prosecution has established charges against the defendant “…it is now settled that conviction may be based on confession alone, even if retracted, if the same is found to be true and voluntary.” The civil judge deposed before the court that he had recorded the confessional statement after registering all legal formalities.
