 An anti-terrorism court on Saturday gave death on two counts to Hafiz Arshad Ali of Muridke who had murdered two children for "perfection" in black-magic. The court also fined him Rs 100,000. The court, however, acquitted black-magic master Imdad Hussain by giving him the benefit of doubt.
| Imdad's hex worked, and Hafiz' didn't, huh? |
Imdad and Hafiz Arshad were accused of killing Muhammad Ramzan and Samina Riaz on April 13, 2004. Samina was killed when she was going for tuition, while Ramzan was kidnapped when he was going to say Friday prayers. Imdad, popularly known as Baba Imdad Hussain, the resident of a village in Faisalabad, had settled in Daokay for last five years. He claimed to be a black magic expert and had many followers in the area. Arshad also joined him to learn black magic. Imdad told him to bring the blood of three children to become a black magician, so he murdered Riaz and Samina while seriously injuring Zainul Abadeen. He also wrote a letter to the area police, warning them of more killings if they tried to arrest him. They were arrested last month.
| Coppers. Sometimes they just don't listen. |
The court gave death to Imdad on June 22, 2004 on charges of killing another child, six-year-old Tehseen, in Daoke village of Muridke in Sheikhupura district. The court had fined him Rs 200,000 and ordered him to pay Rs 200,000 as compensation to the legal heirs of the deceased. Imdad had confessed to killing Tehseen. According to the prosecution, Imdad killed Tehseen on April 23, 2004. Tehseen's uncle found his body near a tube-well in Daoke. He had wounds with some sharp-edged weapon to the neck, right side of the stomach and the right leg. |